12-05-2022

Good Morning All,

         Proverbs 3:5; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

    How often do we do it? When we feel sick or are going to the doctor, we say a prayer asking God to heal us but when we feel fine; it is because we exercise and eat right. When it doesn’t rain, we pray for God to send the rain but when the crops are good; it is because of our management practices and our use of the latest technologies.  We love to have God there when there is trouble, but we pat ourselves on the back when things are going well.

    Too often we use God as our “Get out of Jail Free” card. When we have troubles or fears, or life is going in a direction that we cannot handle. When the pressures of life move in, we claim to turn to God. If you a Facebook person, go through and see how many people want you to pray for them and their problems or someone says they will pray for you and your troubles. Now go through and see how many times people ask you to give thanks to God for their health or good fortune. I am pretty sure how unbalanced that will be.  We are quick to turn to God in trouble and then blame him if the results not what we want.

    We are becoming a people who view God as our personal servant. We are falling into the same trap that Adam and Eve did when the serpent tempted them with,” you will be like God.”  Our sinful nature sneaks up on us and twists our lives in knots. The trouble occurs when we assume that we are in control, and we take God’s place; we have all the weight of those decisions on our shoulders. All that weight is to drag us down, to slow us down and then to tear us down. This is the devil’s aim for you and me.

     However, God has a more excellent way. God comes into our life with all of his love for us and says, “Trust me”.  He tells us to look at all the things which he has done in the past, especially sending Jesus to die for us, in keeping his promises to us. You could trust him then, you can trust him now, and you can trust him in the future. We see this when we start looking at all the blessings which we receive every day and instead of thinking we are really special, we start seeing how we are really blessed.  When we truly trust in God with all our heart, we can focus on the true meaning of our faith; that by God’s grace we have eternal salvation waiting for us. The trials of this life are merely in passing and are there for us to use in the witness of our faith.

     The devil will make this a challenge; he hates it when we trust in God for our needs. The devil wants you to trust in your own skill, knowledge, and wisdom. But God guarantees us his blessings and his promise of salvation when we trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord with your whole heart and you will experience what God wants you to receive, his peace.

Father in heaven, your mercies roll over us like a river. Keep us under your wing. Father, we are often slow to trust, and we miss the blessings of your assurance as we strive to solve the troubles of this life. Forgive us for our slowness to trust. Lead us in your path of righteousness. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret