It is easy to find the solid truths of faith and life when looking back. After all, "hind-sight is twenty-twenty".
This is a thought that has personal application. It is usual that I come to discover God's grace and provision in the above manner. It is easy to trust His grace when I can comprehend it and the warmth of His assurance when storm has ebbed. His presence can be affirmed by tracing where His hand has been.
The poem "Footprints" reminds me that the grace and provision of God are realized when the believer views life in retrospect. He or she can find the evidence and testimony of God's sustenance.
The work of God viewed in retrospect is affirming, but does this equate to trust? Yes, affirmation is an essential part of God's redeeming work. Affirmation strengthens the potential of trust by mooring us to the faithfulness of God. However, affirmation and trust are not the same attribute.
In light of this, how capable am I to arrive at complete trust? Does my heart truly "trust God" in wilderness days? Do I only endure until the time I can "look back" with clarity and am able to "trace the hand of God". When the storm rages, do I trust?
While this thought is personal, I apply it corporately. I believe "a challenge to trust" is something that rings true in the life of most every believer. My journey with fellow believers sustains this proposition. Many, me among the first, know affirmation but have not yet found a distinction between it and trust.
Why draw a distinction? Why not allow trust to stand in general harmony with affirmation?
There is a reason I consider a distinction between affirmation and trust. It seems likely I have completely misunderstood what it means to trust. It has been my thought that I needed to trust God to provide peace. Recently I have been challenged to consider a different perspective. I'll attempt to develop this thought further.
I'll use the miracle of Jesus calming the storm as an example. In this miracle fear of the disciples was assuaged when Jesus calmed the storm. He removed the obstacle that drove their fear. Jesus calmed their fear by calming the storm. This is reasonable interpretation.
It seems reasonable that if Jesus calmed their storm He would calm mine. My reasoning says I should trust Jesus to calm the storm that might rage around me. If Jesus calmed the fear of the disciples by calming the storm then I need to trust in God to calm my storm.
Then comes the poignant statement Jesus makes. He asks, "where is your faith?" Like the disciples I stand amazed at the miraculous work of Christ to calm the storm but what have I done with His question, "where is your faith?"
I have long realized that faith is not measured by whether or not the storm is calmed. Trust is not measured by the presence of suffering. Faith and trust do not dictate the metaphorical weather.
I can trust God to be "the provider of peace". God is provider but if I trust only for provision, peace will be absent. God calms the storm, but if only trust Him to control the weather then I'll know calm, but not peace.
I must trust God to "be peace" not just provide it. The finiteness of this world compels it to chaos. Perhaps if I trust God to "be peace" instead of "trusting in God to bring peace" then "that peace that supersedes all of my understanding" will be cultivated.
Just a though.
This is a thought that has personal application. It is usual that I come to discover God's grace and provision in the above manner. It is easy to trust His grace when I can comprehend it and the warmth of His assurance when storm has ebbed. His presence can be affirmed by tracing where His hand has been.
The poem "Footprints" reminds me that the grace and provision of God are realized when the believer views life in retrospect. He or she can find the evidence and testimony of God's sustenance.
The work of God viewed in retrospect is affirming, but does this equate to trust? Yes, affirmation is an essential part of God's redeeming work. Affirmation strengthens the potential of trust by mooring us to the faithfulness of God. However, affirmation and trust are not the same attribute.
In light of this, how capable am I to arrive at complete trust? Does my heart truly "trust God" in wilderness days? Do I only endure until the time I can "look back" with clarity and am able to "trace the hand of God". When the storm rages, do I trust?
While this thought is personal, I apply it corporately. I believe "a challenge to trust" is something that rings true in the life of most every believer. My journey with fellow believers sustains this proposition. Many, me among the first, know affirmation but have not yet found a distinction between it and trust.
Why draw a distinction? Why not allow trust to stand in general harmony with affirmation?
There is a reason I consider a distinction between affirmation and trust. It seems likely I have completely misunderstood what it means to trust. It has been my thought that I needed to trust God to provide peace. Recently I have been challenged to consider a different perspective. I'll attempt to develop this thought further.
I'll use the miracle of Jesus calming the storm as an example. In this miracle fear of the disciples was assuaged when Jesus calmed the storm. He removed the obstacle that drove their fear. Jesus calmed their fear by calming the storm. This is reasonable interpretation.
It seems reasonable that if Jesus calmed their storm He would calm mine. My reasoning says I should trust Jesus to calm the storm that might rage around me. If Jesus calmed the fear of the disciples by calming the storm then I need to trust in God to calm my storm.
Then comes the poignant statement Jesus makes. He asks, "where is your faith?" Like the disciples I stand amazed at the miraculous work of Christ to calm the storm but what have I done with His question, "where is your faith?"
I have long realized that faith is not measured by whether or not the storm is calmed. Trust is not measured by the presence of suffering. Faith and trust do not dictate the metaphorical weather.
I can trust God to be "the provider of peace". God is provider but if I trust only for provision, peace will be absent. God calms the storm, but if only trust Him to control the weather then I'll know calm, but not peace.
I must trust God to "be peace" not just provide it. The finiteness of this world compels it to chaos. Perhaps if I trust God to "be peace" instead of "trusting in God to bring peace" then "that peace that supersedes all of my understanding" will be cultivated.
Just a though.
