“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Romans 10:14.

But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. Psalms 86:15.

Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true. Joshua 21:45 

Become Acquainted with God

When you are forced to depend on God to be safe,
When you are thrown into the flames burning hot,
That’s not the time to wonder if He knows you
Or whether you can trust Him or not.

When you find yourself locked up alone,
Living long days under an invisible threat,
No doubt you’ll scour your memory
For the balance of your spiritual debt.

It’s too late to reach out to your savior
Once you’re in the middle of needing saved.
Your salvation is based on what you believe
Not on how well you’ve behaved.

If you want to be sure God is on your side,
You must have a well maintained connection.
You have to know who He is through His Word
Before you can assume you have His protection.

So, once on the other side of this threat
Don’t seek out yesterday’s status quo.
Instead, become acquainted with God
So, next time you’ll be someone He knows.
Linda Troxell© 05-27-2021

There is no question that 2020 was a painful year full of fear, loss, and mourning. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, or their homes; others lost their businesses, and some lost all 3. Americans who never dreamed it would happen to them, found themselves standing in long lines at food banks hoping to get enough food to feed their families. And of course, too many Americans suffered the ultimate loss, the death of a loved one. As of this writing, over 600,000 Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19.

There are endless stories to tell about the pandemic and so many of them end with sadness, anger or hopelessness. That makes searching for the gifts hidden in the ashes all the more important. I’m grateful to be one who found a gift in the COVID ashes. With so much time on my hands and not much human contact to distract me, it was a perfect time for me to look back at my five years as a serious Christian.

During the long days alone I spent time reading my journals from the earliest days. I perused various Bible studies I’d completed, and read some old sermon notes. The memories were vivid, almost overwhelming. I remembered, with clarity, the succession of events that brought me to the moment when I was sure that the gospel story was true and I asked Jesus Christ to be my Savior. And I remembered just how exciting it was when every time I watched a sermon or sat down to read, I learned something new and amazing.

When I came across my original study Bible while digging through the boxes, I had to laugh at how busy the pages were. Almost all of them were decorated with highlighted verses of every color, words underlined boldly, and arrows pointing to barely legible margins notes. I felt nostalgic for the enthusiasm of that new Christian as I began to read the gospels from the decorated pages. Before I got far I began to feel distracted and uncomfortable. I couldn’t pinpoint where the feelings were coming from so I pushed on.

By the time I finished reading I was able to identify the reason for my discomfort. As proud as I was to be the earnest Christian who owned that busy Bible, I couldn’t remember the last time I had highlighted a Bible verse. That doesn’t mean I don’t read the Bible, but it does mean that I don’t read it with the same enthusiasm and zeal I once had. And when I compared my spirituality of the past with that of the present, my past spirituality seemed more vibrant. The depth of emotion from the past seemed to be lacking in the present making my spirituality seem stale.

But, my discomfort was about more than highlighted verses or underlined words in a Bible. It was about everything I had allowed to change in 5 years.  As a new Christian, every time I read the gospels and I read part of them every day, I was fully involved. It was all new and exciting as I used my imagination to be part of every story. Then as the stories became more familiar, I became less involved until finally, I was anticipating the words and scanning more than reading.

I had allowed the gospel story to become so familiar that on most days I didn’t even read it. I’d lost sight of its meaning, and its beauty, and the miracle it relates. I had allowed this extraordinary story, the very foundation of my belief, to become ordinary. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has looked back to find that in the past they were more involved with their faith. I’m not the only one to find that in the past they found it more exciting, more engaging more ___________ fill in the blank. It is simply human nature that as familiarity increases, enthusiasm decreases. 

Maybe this doesn’t seem so important to you.  Maybe you’re thinking why is it such a big deal if we don’t read the Bible every day, or if we don’t always read it thoroughly? I know it can seem harmless and we all have a lot on our plates. And if we compare ourselves to other Christians, reading the Bible even once a week puts us ahead of the pack. But, we aren’t other Christians we are, each of us, this single Christian.

Let me tell you why it’s a big deal.  We have just survived a very frightening year and our present is, at best, precarious. If we don’t fully believe that there is someone bigger than ourselves who loves us, is on our side, and will protect us, the fear will become insidious, eventually consuming us. We need to trust God, for He’s the only one who fits the requirements for the job.

It’s really not that difficult to learn to trust God. But it isn’t a one off and done thing, either. Remember we are all sinners by nature and the enemy is always on alert to find a way into our minds. It is important that we spend time with God every day so we can block out the enemy, pour into our faith, and support our trust in God.

Supporting our trust in God is really just continuing to do what we did to develop trust in the first place; reading the Bible, praying and remembering what He has done for us in the past. While trusting God isn’t difficult, it does take time. But, then, trust should take time. We don’t hand our car keys to someone we just met because our friend likes them.

To develop trust, we need to take time to get to know someone personally, and judge their trustworthiness for ourselves. Find out if they are dependable, if they will do what they say they will do, and what we ask them to do. Will they be there when we need them, or will they only show up only sometimes? And once they show up, can we depend on them? We need to know that they are on our side. That they will look out for our best interests. We have to believe any advice they give is trustworthy, not harmful. We need to know that they tell us the truth even when we won’t like the truth. And we need to know they are on our side. And trusting God is no different.

There are 2 basic ways in which we can get to know God personally, through His Word and through prayer. Paul says, in Romans 10, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Romans 10:14. He is talking to the Romans about something different than we are discussing, but we can still take his point.  Paul is asking the Romans how someone can have faith in a Christ they don’t know. And we are asking how we can trust God if we don’t know Him personally. Paul answers our question along with his in Romans 10:17 when he tells the Romans, so faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God. Romans 10:17. He’s telling the Romans that to have faith in God, one must read or hear His Word. And I am saying to you that we learn to trust God the same way. For what is faith if not supercharged trust?

Learning to Trust God Through His Word.
If we’re going to trust God we need to find out who He is. We need to learn about His character. What angers Him, what makes Him rejoice and how does He expresses those and other feelings? We learn this and more by reading God’s Word. His Word tells us that injustice angers Him, He rejoices in the truth, He unselfishly extends grace to those who don’t deserve it, and He shows favor to the poor, the widowed and the orphaned. We find that He disciplines His children who do not obey Him. Yet, we find He is slow to anger. But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. Psalms 86:15.

We can learn about God too, from His promises. Throughout the Old Testament, God used 5 major covenants to unfold His redemptive story. In the way He honored these covenants we see God is dependable to keep His promises.  Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true. Joshua 21:45 

We can learn about God’s character through the Bible, but a relationship, by definition, has two parties. To have a personal relationship each party needs to know the other. We can accomplish that through prayer. For it is in our prayers that we get to know more of who God is for us personally and at the same time, it is where we let God get to know us personally. 

Learning to Trust God through Prayer
As Christians we are so blessed to serve the one and only living God. A God who wants to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us. One of the privileges of a personal relationship with God is that we don’t need a third party to translate our prayers, or to translate God words to us.

In ancient times only priests were allowed to be in the presence of God, and prophets related to the people what God wanted them to know. Not so any longer. When the veil was torn, at the death of Jesus on the cross, we gained direct access to our God and with that came the ability to have a personal relationship. ”Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations”. Psalm 100:4-5. 

Prayers are simpler than many of us fear they are. A prayer is no more, or less than talking to God. We are blessed that we can speak directly to God without fear. We can tell Him anything knowing He will forgive us anything if we confess and repent. God wants us to talk to Him in prayer like we would talk to our best friend over coffee. He wants us to tell Him about who we are, what we like and don’t like and what’s going on in our lives. Of course, God actually knows these things better than we do. But He wants to hear it all from us. After all, He needs to know He can trust us too.

Prayer can become intimidating if we allow our model to be the well-rehearsed and well organized prayers of those who pray publicly. We can easily begin to think that we shouldn’t pray if we can’t pray like they pray. Not so. In the Bible Jesus tells the disciples that they should not pray for show and that’s still true. In order to pray, we simply need to talk to God in the way that we are most comfortable. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7.  

If we are faithful in reading His word and faithful in prayer, we will develop a personal relationship with God. That relationship is the largest part of our mutual trust. Knowing God and trusting that He is good is a relief, but we need to know that He is dependable as well. We need to know He will be there for us every time we need Him. Because we can never fully trust someone who only shows up sometimes. God’s Word says He is consistent. It says He cannot lie, nor can He change His mind. God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Numbers 23:19. That tells us that if He says He will be there for us, He will be there.

We know God is omnipresent, there is nowhere we can go that He isn’t there, as this Psalm speaks to, Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence? Psalm 139:7. That tells us that God is consistent and that He is always wherever we are. But how do we know He will be on our side, be there to protect us and keep us safe, personally?

They say that the best predictor of the future is the past. So we need to look at what God has done in our lives in the past. I would suggest starting by looking back to all of the times and the ways in which God has shown up for you in the past. The times when there was no way and yet a way opened. The times when you were in some kind of danger but you weren’t hurt. Think about all of the times when you needed God and He showed up. I recommend that you start now to make an ongoing list. Start by sitting down today and writing down every time you remember God showing up for you. Every time you remember another time He showed up, jot it down on the list. And every time He shows up after today put it on the list.

Next, we should also look back to any written material we have, prayer or gratitude journals, sermon notes, or church calendars, for example. If you didn’t write about a time He came through on these documents, perhaps the activities of certain dates will jog your memory. And don’t forget to ask those close to you what they remember. We tend to tell those closest to us when we have a God experience.

Make an effort to remember as many as you can because knowing every time God was faithful to show up for us will build our trust for the next time. And perhaps the best trust builder is reminding ourselves that God doesn’t show up because we deserve it or because we’ve been good, He shows up for us because that’s who He is, it’s part of His character.

These things should lay a good foundation of trust for you or give the trust you already have established a big boost. But don’t stop here. Every time God shows up in the future write it down. Keep a prayer journal listing for what you are praying and indicating when a prayer is answered. And be sure to keep reading God’s word, keep praying and telling Him everything about yourself. Keep your relationship open and alive, and keep your trust strong, it may be very important in your survival one day, don’t leave it to chance. 

Let’s Pray

God thank you for being with us this past year and beyond when we all experienced some kind of darkness. Many of us experienced the most painful darkness of losing someone we love. Please comfort everyone who is grieving.  Lord there are still many countries around the world that have had no, relief or very little from this virus. We ask that you take care of those people, help them to recover and be with them in their fear and sadness. This dark time has reminded us just how important it is to pay attention to our relationship with you. We need to do those things that keep our trust strong and our relationship vibrant. We ask that you help us to keep that in our minds and in our hearts. With our lives beginning to return to normal, we will find ourselves right back in that old time crunch. Please help us to not allow that time crunch to keep us for spending time with you daily. We know that you are always with us and that we can always pray to you and trust you. Thank you for your love and comfort. We pray this in the Holy and Mighty name of Jesus, Amen!

Points for Pondering or for Prayer

Or

Perhaps for Putting Pen to Paper

1. How have you held up in the year of the pandemic? Write a paragraph about the worst thing and the best thing you experienced.
   
2. Did you find any unexpected gifts from the time of COVID? Have you looked at that time specifically for its gifts? If not try scanning the time for gifts and see what you find.
   
3. Have you ever thought about needing to support your faith and your trust in God? If you have, what have you done to support yours? If you haven’t, do you think you might begin to think in those terms now? If you will, what do you think you will do?
   
4. On average, how many times a week do you read from the Word? When you read, how long do you usually spend? How about praying? On average, how many days a week, if any, do you stop and get still for the express purpose of praying? How many times a week, if any, do you think you say a quick prayer to God on the run, if any?