Who do you trust when everything seems to be in flux?
Regulations, restrictions, new normal, work conditions, the economy… they all seem to change daily. It feels like playing a basketball game and someone keeps changing the rules. How do you know when you are winning?
During uncertainty, we begin to question everything from our government, to our employer, our instincts and even our God. So…
How do you trust God… in 2020? Here’s one thing I’ve learned…
I think the way I have to trust God in 2020 is the same way Jeremiah trusted God in 600 BC. His city has been destroyed. His security has been decimated, his home has been lost, and he decides to express his frustration to God!
‘Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is. I cry out, “My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!” The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.”
Lamentations 3:17-22
Getting honest with God is always a good thing. In fact, here’s the one thing I’ve learned – Expressing your frustration TO God will elevate your faith IN God.
Expressing your frustration TO God will elevate your faith IN God.
In Jeremiah’s case he reached the bottom of the barrel emotionally and spiritually but then his mood changes completely. Take a look at what Jeremiah says next:
“Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”’
Lamentations 3:23-24
What caused the turn around? How did he change from distrust to trust? He saw the God was still bigger than even this.
I love what the late author Tim LaHaye says in his classic book Trusting God:
“Even the nation in the depth of its sin was not cut off from God’s love. God disciplined the nation severely, but He did not cease to love it. We, too, if we would speak of the Lord’s great faithfulness, must turn from our circumstances to the Lord. We must see our circumstances through God’s love instead of, as we are prone to do, seeing God’s love through our circumstances.” Tim LaHaye, Trusting God
How did the writer turn to the Lord? He reflected on the love, the compassion, and the faithfulness of God.
How about today we make two lists:
One, of all the things we’ve lost. Cry out to God. Get real with him. He can take it.
And the second? A list of all the things that will not change. God’s love for us. Jesus death and resurrection. His mercy and grace extended. And that our hope is not in the things of this world, but in the next.
Great article. Very applicable in todays time.
Keep up the good work Pastor Rusty. I am proud to be a member of your church. I am continually inspired by your sermons. Your hard work does not go in noticed.
Perhaps that old hymn “Great is they faithfulness….” is very old, missing the modern hooks Gen-Xers are hungry for. However, the part about “Morning by morning, new mercies I see” is still valid: it’s not corny or outdated. Each day we’re still alive here is a new “at bat”. If we’re a faith “300 hitter”, it’s not panic time: we KNOW we’ll bounce back (–IF trusting & walking with God). So, IF we wake up today, our freefall can be redeemed. If we don’t wake up, then….who cares?. We need to remember (now) what Paul said: “……..for me to live is Christ, to die is gain”. Good IS coming. So, yes, God IS still near; we may be banged up right now, but His love does not cease.
Thank you Rusty for this beautiful message. Every time I read them my spirit and Faith in God’s love goes up. I feel stronger even though I’m not ! –
My daughter Gloria and husband Mike Parkes they are members of your beautiful Church they live in Castaic, and before this pandemic every time i had a chance to go visit them on a Thursday, I loved to go to your service with them. You are an inspiration for me and my wife. I normally watch you on line, you are such of great Pastor that is a real joy listening to you and the rest of your staff !
May God bless you and your family and church.