You know being trustworthy is one of the best character traits to have. Smart is good, but if you cant be trusted, no one will believe your smart-ness. Friendly is good, but if you cant be trusted it is only a shallow hello. A winsome personality is wonderful, but if you cannot be trusted you are a sham. When you child looks at you from the edge of the pool, and you say, jump in, you can do it, right then is a crisis of trust. Will they trust you to catch them? Many people treat their relationship with God that way. They wonder, can I really trust Him? Is He really got my best interest at heart? And you know the truth is, He does. Think about it, the God of the universe, creates you and me, and decides to allow us to choose Him or not to choose Him—because He wants to be loved freely—by our own free will. Some people say, if God was so loving, why wouldn’t He just make us love Him and avoid the whole sin thing. God chose the loving act of giving us a free will, so that He wouldn’t force anyone to do what they did not want to do. And friends, let me lovingly say as your pastor today, that He will not force you to spend eternity with Him. He only wants those to be with Him who really want to. If you are running from God today, think about that. He may in time, let you have your own way.
Those that begin a walk with God, know that He can be trusted to do what He says He will do. He has given us his Holy Spirit to guide us, to protect us, to walk with us. That’s the kind of God I want to serve. God has to be trustworthy. Did you know that? He has to be trustworthy, because He is truth. God has revealed his truth through His Word and through Jesus, His Son. The truth is, that He loves us very much, and wants to have a relationship with us. If God is trustworthy, that raises an interesting question I am sure few of us have ever answered with any clarity: Can God trust you?
If I asked most of you today, “can you really be trusted?” most of you would answer YES. Most of us would answer “YES” because we would reason that we are good and even godly. We don’t steal, don’t cuss, don’t cheat or go with girls who do—or whatever. But if I asked you this morning, …can God trust you? The answer becomes more difficult.
1. Can God trust you when you are under attack?
2. Can He trust you when all hell is breaking loose around you?
3. Can God trust you when Satan decides to shoot a fiery dart at your marriage, your children, or your health?
4. Can He trust you when the bank says there is no more money and you just bounced a check?
5. Can He trust you when the boss doubles your work and not your pay?
Can God trust you?
Turn with me to the letter of 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, verses 8-11.
8. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11. as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.”
Pray
Paul is writing to the people of the churches in Corinth. He has just expressed that God will comfort them as He has indeed comforted Paul and his companions. Paul had some real trials. He was imprisoned, shipwrecked, beaten with the lash 39 times (because at 40 they thought you might die), he was almost stoned at one point. Paul endured a lot of hardship in his years of ministry. What this particular trial was is not revealed here. It may have been any of the things just listed, or even a physical trial. Paul notes in other places that his “thorn in the flesh” is a real and more than irritating problem for him. Some of you know that sometimes physical trials truly do take on the nature of life and death situations. Paul says in verse 9 that in their hearts, they felt the sentence of death. This was a serious trial—one in which even the eternal optimist, Paul, was challenged in his faith.
Paul had a few choices when this trial came up. He could have cut and run. So many people are good at that. When the first wave of cross-current hits them, they throw in the towel and quit. Some people treat their spiritual lives like that. The first morning they don’t feel like having time with God, they don’t. The first time another Christian looks at them the wrong way, they write them off. But there is something about the persistence of God that challenges us to keep running the race. Think about it, what if God gave up on you the first time you ignored Him when He was trying to speak to you. What if He never tried to get your attention again after the first time you decided to go your own way? But God’s character prompts Him to go the 2nd, 3rd and 4th mile, while many of us dare to ever go the first. No wonder the Pharisees were scandalized by Jesus talking to people like the woman at the well. She is a sinner Jesus! We have written her off. You shouldn’t be talking to her. But Jesus did, and does to you and me. And so, seeing the example of the Lord, Paul stuck with his plan—to honor God no matter what.
Paul did not cut and run. He did not abandon Christ at the first sign of trouble, or even after he had endured lots of trouble. Why? Did he enjoy being beaten? Did he love the free meals in prison—or the lack of food at all? Did he enjoy the indignity of being called a liar, or stupid and being escorted out of town? I think the answer is emphatically ‘NO’. Last week Pastor Joe alluded to the passage from Philippians about running the race. Paul was in this thing to the end. He was in it to “win”. He was not about to quit while in the middle of it. One might ask why? Why in the world would anyone go through what Paul went through? Part of the answer lies in God’s calling. When God calls you to do something, it is easier to go through beatings and imprisonment than to escape the call.
Paul says in Acts 20: 22-24 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has give me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
No, Paul did not, and could not cut and run. He did not abandon his faith, his beliefs, or those who loved God when times got tough. In fact, he welcomed it, because he knew that in the community of faith, there is support, encouragement and the prayers of the saints. But even if those things were not there, Paul knew he was called of God to stand for him. This morning, can God trust you like that? Do you have your eyes on the finish line, as Paul so aptly says, or when trials come, can you only see the obstacle in front of you?
Look back at the 2 Corinthians passage again. Paul says in verse 8-9 that he and his companions endured hardships and they suffered. They were under great pressure. Ever feel that way? Do you ever feel like the situations in your life are out of control, like you are not sure that you can deal with any more pressure or suffering? Paul was there. It says in verse 8 that they despaired, even of life—meaning, they weren’t sure if they would live through it to tell you and I about it. That is trouble. In verse 9 Paul says that in their hearts they felt the sentence of death. But here is the key: Paul said, “..this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” Wow.
When we are concerned whether we will live or die through our trials, we had better consider making sure we are right with the one who controls life and death. Paul affirms a spiritual principle worth noting here: namely that whatever we are going through, life-threatening or not, God is the god of resurrection. When we feel there is no hope whatsoever, God is the god of resurrection. He is the LORD of life! We need to celebrate that! Physical life, emotional life, relationship life and most importantly spiritual life! God is life.
Notice also verse10 and 11. Paul said that God had delivered them from danger and will continue to deliver them, as the people continue to pray. God listens to the prayers of his people. Paul knew the power of prayer and that he needed it to fight the spiritual battles that he had to face nearly daily in his ministry. He knew that if his prayer life was not current and vital, and that if other people were not praying for him and his ministry, that he would not be successful in bringing others to Christ.
I have to imagine that Paul answered the question, “Can God trust me?” almost daily. He had to face giving in and giving up all the time. John Mark faced that question when Paul, Barnabas and John Mark were traveling through Asia. Mark saw the persecution and trials they were facing, and Mark went home. He deserted Paul and Barnabas. He allowed the pressure of the moment’s awful circumstances to dictate his response. Paul kept Mark’s example in his mind, and perhaps he said to himself, “I will never cut and run like Mark! That’s not what a Christian does!”
There are a few truths that I think can be brought out of this passage.
1. God allows bad things to happen to good people, so their faith might be strengthened.
And right away the questions roll. But why did God allow our child to die? Is He a cruel God? Why did He allow this or that to happen? I think we have to take a step back and realize that God sees the beginning and the end. He knows what is best for all of us, and He knows that sometimes bad things only seem bad to us. We feel awful during our trial, it causes stress no doubt, but in the end it strengthens us. Consider Joseph. His brothers sold him to slave traders because of their jealousy and his arrogance. A favored son becomes a common slave with no rights. He holds onto his integrity and goes to prison for it. And all the while he cannot see God’s plan. He cannot understand why God keeps allowing his life to be uprooted and what we would call utterly destroyed. It is not until God calls him out of prison to interpret Pharoah’s dream and he is put in charge of Egypt, second only unto to Pharoah himself, that Joseph realizes and comments to his brothers, “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” Wow. God can trust a man like Joseph.
2. The second truth that I see emerge from this passage is that God’s resurrection power can revive us as well. When the trials of our life are crushing in upon us, when people are not telling the truth about us, when cancer hits, when we receive the pink slip, when our children reject our faith and walk their own way, when our marriage is strained to the point of hiring an attorney, God’s resurrection power can still work! Paul said that he and his companions despaired to the point of death—they thought it inevitable and yet they persisted! And God who is life, revived them again with his power and the reassurance of his love and life. Can God trust you this morning when the trials of life consume our every waking thought and all our energy? Consider the example of Job. I don’t always like Job. Not because he is unlikable, or that he has bad traits, or that he was a bad person. Quite to the contrary, it was his godly character that singled him out for spiritual, physical and financial attack. I don’t always like reading about Job because I am reminded of what it really takes to trust God with all of it. God allowed satan to attack Job and test his faith and it was tested to its limits. His children were gone, his finances and wealth gone, his friends suggested that he must have offended God, and his loving wife suggested that he should just curse God and get it over with. When it gets this bad, or even half this bad, I think my faith would be more than a little testing and yet Job’s response is amazing: “Though He slay me, yet I will trust in God.” Amazing! Why in the world would Job say that after all that destruction and loss? Job had his eyes on the finish line. He did not allow his faith and his beliefs to be shaken. He trusted God and so, God could trust Job.
3. A third observation is that in the midst of this trial of Paul’s, prayer jumps off the page. Paul notes that it is the prayers of the Corinthians that are lifting them and giving them the courage to stand firm, to not give in, to not give up in the face of almost certain death! Paul believed in prayer and practiced it daily. He communed with God. He knew that if the people were praying, they could make it. It think one of the main reasons God could trust Paul, was that he was utterly dependent on God. He did not do much of anything without praying and seeking the Lord’s leading. Can we do any less?
This morning, God wants men and women that He can trust. When life is falling apart, He is offended if we do not turn to Him for our support and love. He is offended, if when we are struggling, that we turn from Him, or turn on Him or his people.
So what can we do in trials? How can we make sure we are worthy of God’s trust?
I have 5 suggestions:
1. Don’t stop meeting together. You and I both need the mutual encouragement and support of Christ’s body. If you don’t need the love and encouragement right now, someone else does—it might be me that needs it. It is our responsibility to care for one another as the Holy Spirit empowers us.
2. Stay in prayer and fasting. Paul said in verse 11, that it was only by prayer that they were encouraged enough to keep running the race, that they could keep their eyes on the finish. It is only by prayer that we will indeed be able to look past our circumstances and allow God to show us beyond it. What about this fasting bit? It may be that we need to rediscover the spiritual discipline of self denial—whether its food or anything else, and focus on Christ and his strength. Our culture cries out for what is comfortable and nice. Whole churches are geared for comfort nowadays but God is not primarily concerned about our comfort. He is more concerned about our faithfulness.
3. Recall His faithfulness. Speaking of faithfulness, when we are in trials and cant seem to see past them, we need to remember God’s faithfulness from the past. In the OT, the Israelites were constantly told to remember what God had done to remind them that He would be with them even now, if only they would turn to him. Want God to trust you? Reflect this morning on where you have come from in your faith journey. Thank Him and recall the ways in which He unexpectedly met your needs in the past and celebrate them! Recall his faithfulness.
4. Will yourself to praise God before, during, and after the trial you are in. Psalm 34 says, I will praise the Lord at all times. You know, there is something amazing that happens when we praise. We can be feeling the lowest of the low, but somehow, when we make God great, when we lift his name, He blesses us. What a gift! No wonder the Psalmist loves to praise God. When we praise Him, we affirm his character and are reminded that He is finally in control of all things. It fosters an attitude of gratitude, and frankly, we need to be more thankful for his graciousness to us. I sometimes think we don’t understand the depth of our sin, and the way God condescends to meet us where we are at. A holy, unapproachable God made himself approachable and took on this flawed flesh to be a sacrifice for our sins.
5. Enlist the prayers and support of others who will encourage you and hold you accountable to stay on track with God. This might be the hardest one to do. We live in a culture of privacy. A young girl can have an abortion without her parents consent, because of privacy, but she needs a parent to go with her to get her ears pierced. We are privacy conscious people no doubt, but here’s the thing: God had crafted us in a way that requires other believers to make it work right for the most part. If we truly want to take holiness seriously, if we truly want to be in a place where we can say “I want God to be able to trust me when tough times hit”, then we need to be accountable.
If I had to take a poll this morning, I bet some would say they feel like Job. If God placed heavy burdens and trials on them today, they might not like it, but they would trust and therefore be trustworthy to God. But some of us might be thinking this morning that we are more like the desert Israelites. God was talking to Moses on the mountain about not making idols only to discover when he came down, that that is exactly what they had done while he was gone.
Are you facing trials this morning? Are you facing challenges that are getting you down? Are you tempted sometimes to cut and run? Face life in Paul’s direction—keep your eyes on the finish line—don’t stop meeting with God’s people, stay connected through prayer, recount his faithfulness, will yourself to praise and worship, and get accountable.
It is a test of faith. Can God trust you this morning?
Lets stand.
Some of you this morning may be saying, Im not sure if I even know what Pastor Drew is talking about, but I know that somehow, things are just not right with me and God. And I want to do something about that. If you want to come and pray here at the altar and get that taken care of, come right now. Non one is watching. It is just you and God.
Some of us this morning need to wrestle with this issue of faith. Can God trust me when it really counts? Will I give in when the heat is too much? Some need to pray this morning for strength and help. Lets pray even now.
