AM I REALLY TRUSTING GOD?

Trust and Obey

Although I was not raised in a Christian family, I remember one of the Hymns I sang in the first church I attended as an adult. Well, only a few words. "Trust and obey for there is no other way." Nearly 40 years later I'm still thinking about those words. Am I really trusting God? Can I obey God if I don't trust Him? I don't have complete answers to these questions, but I'll share a few thoughts.

A Starting Place

Romans 10:9-10: "...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (NKJV)

I know many of us have been told all we have to do is pray a prayer with these words and we will go to heaven. So, is this all there is? What does trusting and obeying have to do with it? 

In John 6:28-29, the people asked Jesus, "What should we do, that we may work the works of God?" He answered and said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." Most would say the most important work of God is the miracle of salvation...by believing!

In James 1:5-8 regarding profiting from trials through faith, James says that if we ask God for wisdom we will get it, if we ask in faith with no doubting. He goes on to say that doubting creates a double-minded person that will receive nothing from the Lord.

The Context of Scripture

Here is my take on the context of these verses. Our faith is the decision to believe what God has said through His Word (Jesus) and the Scripture is true. Believing from our heart is trusting in Jesus. Confession with our mouth must be genuine with actions, or fruit, following. It is obedience! Not doubting describes a commitment for a lifetime! 

Doubting God

We live in a society where performance is the measure of our success. Meritocracy some call it. Early in my adult life I can remember saying that if anything bad or good happened to me it was of my doing. This is our performance way. 

While we can't sit idly by and wait for God to do a thing we want, God's plan is for us is to learn to be who we are in Him and what He has done for us, not immediately jump into our performance mode and do something in or own strength or ability. Learning to be who we are in Him should be the first thing. This is where we find His guidance. Sometimes it is new meaning from a scripture. Other times it may be just knowing what we are to do as we pray and spend time with Him.

The Ways of Doubt

So, when are we likely to intentionally or unintentionally doubt God? While I may discuss several of these ways in future posts, today I'll focus on what I think is the most important issue, not believing Scripture as the Holy Spirit reveals it to us. Believing without question what a pastor, teacher or denomination has told us a scripture means, rather than the personal revelation the Holy Spirit gives to us, can result in doubting God. 

1 John 2:27: "But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you, but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him." (NKJV) Listening to the Holy Spirit before we listen to man is God's plan!

Do we avoid listening to man's voice and seeking only that of the Holy Spirit? Of course not! This scripture tells us, however, that we are not to blindly accept explanations, doctrine or positions of religious leaders in denominations, churches or ministries without first seeking Holy Spirit revelation. 

Dangerous Ground

Because we live in a society of pyramid style churches with a only a few people at the top running the show, thinking for ourselves can be dangerous ground. Some of us have learned that thinking for ourselves is not the preferred "modus operandi" for today's religion. Some strict religions call the results of having thoughts outside of the status quo "shunning." Most others just ostracize creative thinkers and give them the left foot of fellowship! No soft landing on this dangerous ground!

So our need for affiliation keeps us on the inside of the pyramid and we begin to doubt or ignore what we believe we have heard from the Holy Spirit. More dangerous ground, even worse. When we begin to doubt, we can't believe in our heart. We move under the control of our soul. From this point forward, there is no trusting God, not really! Separation from Him is the result in other words! As described in James 1:5-8 above, when this occurs we will receive nothing from the Lord! Perhaps these scriptures have been removed from some Bibles today, but I can still find them in mine!

Can We Obey God if We Doubt His Word?

Trust and obey, remember. What if we believe some of His Word and just ignore other scriptures? We are a work in process right? Surely God knows our heart doesn't He? Yes, He does, just as Jesus knew the heart of man described in the Gospels. Inside is often different from the outside! We have free will. We can choose to trust God and obey Him, or not. From the Old Testament forward, we have been told that we can choose between His life or our death. It is decision time. Time grows short!