He Cares for Us, Even if We Do Not Trust Him

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him." (Job 13: 15)

Now, because we understand how much God loves us, and how much better is His Way--new and living, alive in Christ Jesus--let us also rest in His grace and caring for us, even when we struggle to believe, or still find ourselves fighting to rest in His grace.

Look at Abram--later Abraham--who lived under God's perfect promises before the Ten Commandments:

"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran." (Genesis 12: 1-4)

Notice that Abram took his nephew Lot, when he should have left him in Haran.

Yet God still blessed Him.

"And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him." (Genesis 12: 7)

Abram did not trust God to produce an heir for him:

"And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir." (Genesis 15: 2-3)

With all that God had done for him already, Abram still struggled.

How did God answer?

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15: 5-6)

Even when Abram fathered a child with his servant girl, or when he lied--twice!--about his lawful Sarah to save himself (talk about a lack of trust!) the LORD still blessed, cared for, and perserved teh life of Abram, later Abraham.

Consider then all the more God's love for us:

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5: 8)

and also

"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8: 32)

We do not have to worry about God harming us or killing us. He is for us, and no one can be against us to our hurt (Romans 8: 31)

He cares for us! Why would we not trust Him? (1 Peter 5: 6-7)

Not Our Own Ways, But His Way

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him." (Job 13: 15)

Job was arrogant as well as fatalistic.

He was not concerned with the goodness of God, as much as he was focused on his own goodness, his own ways.

In the Proverbs, we learn what God thinks of man's ways:

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Proverbs 16: 25)

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way." (Proverbs 37: 23)

Instead of our way, let us rest in His Way!

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

"He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." (Psalm 23: 2-3)

We need a New and Living Way!

We Find this in Jesus!

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14: 6)

Through Jesus our High Priest Forever, we come to the Father!

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21And having an high priest over the house of God; 22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10: 19-23)

Jesus is the Way. We do not need to keep our own, nor should we even try!

You Can Trust Him -- He Won't Kill You

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him." (Proverbs 13: 15)

Job declared these words at one of his lowest moments.

His three "friends" routinely condemned him, as if all the evil befalling him was because of something he had done.

The truth is, our self-righteousness, our self-effort, will frustrate God's grace in our lives.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)

Remember to rightly divide the Word of Truth as well (2 Timothy 2: 15)

Job did not have a covenant with God, as Abraham did (Genesis 15), and as all of us do today in Jesus!

"And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." (Hebrews 9: 15)

While Job was playing up his stoic resolve, the truth is that God is not in the business of killing us.

He is good to us, and therefore we trust Him!

"But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation." (Psalm 13: 5)

He is merciful and that is why we trust Him!

"I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications." (Psalm 116: 1)

We love Him because He came through for us!

How?

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4: 9-10)

God sent His Son Jesus to die for us, to die as us, and to give us LIFE!

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10: 10)

Jesus died that we would have everlasting life! (John 3: 16)

We can trust our Daddy God, who gave us His Son (Romans 8: 31-32)! We live under a New Covenant, where He takes care of us. All He asks us to do is ... believe Him! (John 6: 29)

He Keeps Us Calm, and Carries Us On

During the Second World War, the ministry of defense wanted to prepare posters and banners for the worried, fearful British public.

For months, the Nazi airforce was bombing the United Kingdom, hoping to cripple the power and the moral of the British people.

In the mean time, the British government hoped to encourage the populace in spite of the terrible Nazi blitz.

The proposed banners read:

Notice the royal crown on top of the banner.

Today, we have a High Priest Forever, Jesus, and He is King of Kings, Lord of Lords!

Because of Jesus, we do not keep ourselves calm.

He keeps us calm!

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

"He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." (Psalm 23: 2-3)

Notice that He causes us to lie down, and then to restore our souls.

Consider also this wonderful verse:

"1At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

2Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.

3The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." (Jeremiah 31: 1-3)

Notice how God will cause the Israelites to rest.

Today, our Sabbath rest is in Jesus!

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

and

"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (Hebrews 4: 9-11)

Jesus is our rest, and He causes to keep calm.

He also carries us!

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10:28)

and

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" (Ephesians 2: 4-6)

We never raised ourselves, and we have done nothing of ourselves to be saved.

It is all God's grace. Just as Jesus holds the universe together in His hands (Colossians 1: 18).

Jesus: He keeps us calm and He carries us!

In Christ, Life Blooms Even in Our Desert Moments.

In the past few weeks, a spectacular bloom of flowers has sprung forth in Death Valley, California.

Incredible.

The hottest place on earth, and the lowest point in North America, is witnessing an incredible growth of plant life in spite of the most dire and difficult of circumstances.

Yet look at these flowers!

and

Here are some other photos of what tourists are visiting, viewing, and sharing with their friends and family all over the world:

When I saw this majestic field of gold in the midst of a barren land, I thought of these verses of Scripture:

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. (Isaiah 35:1-7)

Notice that the wilderness cannot stop His grace in our lives.

The desert speaks of our flesh, our dead works:

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years because of their unbelief. They did not "labor to enter His rest" (Hebrews 4: 3, 11)

What is unbelief at its core? When you and I do not believe that Jesus  completed a perfect work at the Cross, and that to this day He is working in and for us. If we believe that we have to work, or that every challenge or obstacles depends on our effort to overcome ...

You are wandering/wondering in unbelief.

Notice in the above verses that "the glory of Lebanon shall be "given". We cannot earn glory or favor.

God our loving Father bestows this glory on us, and He does this righteously through His Son:

"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:" (John 17: 22)

Notice also that our strength and courage does not come from us, but because of Him!

"Behold, your God will come with vengeance" He comes. "He will come and save you."

God is our Savior: Jesus.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus quoted this verse to John the Baptist's disciples, who wondered with their earthly leader if Jesus was--and is--the Messiah whom they were waiting for:

"And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

"Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." (Matthew 11: 1-5)

We have received His Life, because that is why He came (John 10: 10)

Today, recognize that even in the most desert, or deserted, periods of your walk on earth, He is your life, and He is in the business of prospering us in every way (3 John 2)