Trust in God
17 April 2016
Is the title of this article a measurable process and do we have any examples of how our trust in God is perceived in the Bible? This process is a delicate one because it really professes our lives and how we really view God when things turn bad. It is easy for us to say and to “have” trust in God when things are good, but what do we do and how do we act when things become hard? Our trust in God should originate from our hearts and not our heads and it is through this organ setting that defines our trust. God recognizes our lives from the heart level and even though our trust may falter a bit, He still delivers His truths abundantly.
There is a saying that I use sometimes that describes life and it goes like this: “sometimes life is a four letter word”. When I use that phrase it is always in context to mean that some of our days will not be pleasant and trials will come along that test our courage and faith, not only in our existence but more importantly our trust in God. This process is a common entity that many of us witness each day and due to all of the calamities that surround us it would be easy to lose our trust in God if we are not firmly planted in His foundation. God never promised us an easy road through life once we accepted Him as our savior; in fact, the opposite is true that our lives would seem to be more difficult because we separated ourselves from the world.
Over the past few years, some stories have broken out that a few ministers and song artists have fallen away from their faith and have declared that there is no God and that if God did exist that He would be a “she”. Some have become total and devout atheists with a few throwing agnosticism into the fray. A founder of one of the popular Christian music groups recently declared that he was now an atheist because God had not quite lived up to what he expected Him to be. A couple of years ago one of the more popular praise leaders in England came out as a lesbian and even though her worldly practice she still thrives in, she continues to lead worship in her church. The State of the Church shall be addressed in a future article because God wants His children to know that we must be totally separate from the world in order to be a part of His Church and to understand what is transpiring around us at all times. It is through this trust in God or lack of it that plays out each day in our personal lives and in our nations societies and it shall determine our destiny and our survival in due time.
One story that demonstrates our trust in God is an obvious one and that is from the book of Job. It is this type of example that fits perfectly into line with how our societies today act and react to God, but in this topic things will be set up a bit different because there are actually two sides to the story of Job, one side that comes from Job and the other side that comes from his wife and through both sides of this story defines the issue of trust in God. This article is designed to search your heart and to fervently ask God to show you exactly what your trust in Him really is. It is this portion of our lives that will define us when things turn south and it will also set to light exactly what the foundation of the Church really is as well. We must never forget that trust in God is a direct reflection of our relationship with God.
We all have read the story of Job and how God initiated the activities that turned job’s life around. God has previously shared with us how Job’s family was taken from him on one dreadful day and all of his possessions were devoured by natural forces stimulated by Satan. It is clear that the physical condition of Job became horrendous and every inch of his body became a host for pain and agony almost unimaginable. As we read in Job Chapter 1 it is clear that Job lived an upright life before God and was blessed beyond measure. In Chapter 2 of Job, we read that God and Satan have a conversation concerning the countenance of Job and if he would “stand the test” if all of his possessions were taken away. This portion proves Satan’s fallacies and at the same time proves God to be all knowing especially when it comes to the heart of mankind.
Through Job’s own words he declares that God would not punish him for sins that were unknown, this is a true statement. This statement reflects invigorating capacity of the human mind and heart to individually dig into the heart of God and see what is there for the sole purpose of understanding our creation and purpose for living. This passage also states that through this action Job had every intention of understanding the relationship that God desired with him and through that relationship the understanding of his life. This was the condition of Job’s personal society that everyone who knew Job should have recognized and it is not difficult to accept that Job’s trust in God was complete, unadulterated and holy in all capacities of his existence. It is difficult to imagine such a setting taking place to which we might have to ask ourselves this specific question but at the same time we must remember that God allowed things of this nature to occur once which mean He can do it again.
On the other side of the issue we have the wife of Job, besides Job the sole surviving portion of Job’s life and dominion after the utter devastation. God has also shared with us why Job’s wife was spared and that Satan could not touch her and the reasons why she was off limits to the wrath and length of his chain. Her response to the horrific catastrophes was a tad different from Job’s in that after all that had occurred she wanted Job to just curse God and die, thus giving up and not following through with God’s purpose for Job’s life.
What type of example would Job be if he had adhered to this type of belief and a more important question is: how many people would justify taking their own lives from the world in the name of Job? God did not make our wills to falter when times are tough but to be defined through these tests that appear before our eyes. Job’s wife proves a valid point because all of us have had her thoughts run through our minds and hearts at some point in time; why not just give up and die for everything that we have built up has been destroyed and all-purpose defeated. But this is where God expects us to trust Him and to rely upon the relationship that we have with Him and through this relationship, our trust in Him should not waiver for all has been accounted for and noticed by God.
There is no question that the devastation that Job and his wife faced were of utter proportion but at the same time some of us can easily understand this situation because of personal experience but most of us fall into the category of “sight-seeing” when news of this type of settings cross our airwaves. The question concerning Job’s wife is: where was her trust? She knew about God and she knew His ways and blessings because Job was very vocal about his relationship with God, so she was privy to her husband’s knowledge. This is a clear demonstration that Job and his wife did not see eye to eye on some issues and when the time came that tests arrived, the differences that she harbored was according to her trust in God; as was Job’s. Can you think of other times in the Bible when spouses did not share the same views at their mates? Adam and Eve quickly come to mind and Moses’ wife is another example as well. How about loved ones in your family?
How does the trust in God or the lack thereof concerning Job’s wife have anything to do with our society and the state of the Church today? It is through the statement of Job’s wife that we can conclude that her trust in God had not been up to the same level as Job, this does not make her any less valuable or important but it does place her into a category of relationship with God. We know that after everything was said and done that God restored Job his land, animals, finances, and even children far greater than before disaster struck. This should speak volumes to our hearts because we must think about what would have occurred if Job had taken the advice of his wife and not completely trusted in God.
I do not wish to condemn Job’s wife on any measure for it took guts to live through the aftermath that both her and her husband endured but both of these individual’s actions should tell us something about how our trust lies in God or that our trust lies in our surroundings. From all indications, the Job family lived in great wealth and that they had worked very hard at all of the things that God blessed them with, and for the most part we can gather that there was an easy feeling about life up until the horrors struck their family. It is at this point in time when the true heart shows itself and the true beliefs of such a heart shine through. There is no question that Job and his wife discussed countless things over their time together and from Job’s reaction to his wife’s statement to him, he was not surprised at all.
As a spouse, it is difficult to go against your other half but it is in these times that these two people stuck together and did not waiver from their covenant. It must have been devastating for Job’s wife to make those comments to him and to God, but even with the doubt appearing verbally God still had a plan for their lives. If Job had listened to his wife’s argument and had thrown in the towel, they would not have been able to witness the fulfillment of God’s restoration plan He had for their lives. We as a society today would not have a prime example of how we need to have complete and total trust in our Creator no matter what comes our way for God is a restoration God and even when our lives seem the darkest, He always provides a way for us to be restored according to His glory and riches. If Job had listened to his wife then Satan would have been correct about the situation and God would have been wrong. Can you imagine God being wrong? If God was wrong on ANY level, Satan would have the legal authority to claim his position back that he had in heaven. Saying that, this story of Job and his wife says a lot about God and the family unit; no wonder Satan goes after personal dominions.
Which brings us back to the question: what type of reaction would this society have if God allowed such a devastating toll to be taken upon our lives? At one point in our society’s past, God was a firm foundation of this land. Yes, there were many mistakes made and yes, many lives hurt during those mistakes. However, God continued to pour out His blessings on this land in hopes that we would recognize our sinful and hurtful ways and to repent from them and to allow Him to renew our dominion as it was first established with John Smith. But, God has called us out and we have arrogantly turned away with wicked tongue and evil heart. In essence, we have already made our choice and are now fulfilling Job’s wife’s placement of curse God and die.
If our hearts continue in this manner we shall unfold a burden on this society like none has ever been witnessed in the history of mankind. For a country who basically has a church building on every street corner we know nothing about God and His Word, nor do we care to dive into the truth deep enough to understand the path that we are walking. There is no way possible for any of us to go through this life unscathed, but when we purposefully push God aside and shove His ways out of our existence we cannot help but to expect some type of taking back from His holy place. We cannot hide the fact that we have taken our trust in God and have placed it in earthly treasures. We are following in the footsteps of the children of Israel and just as they experienced, at some point in our timeline God is going to say, enough.
It is evident that Israel believed that God would never destroy their land because of their divine “status” in His eyes; they were sorely and grievously mistaken. It is also evident that Israel never was again the mighty nation among their enemies for they were held in captive for centuries and their name be run roughshod by everyone that wished. God allowed this to occur to His beloved nation so why would He not allow something similar to occur in our society? Israel sold their position in God to the world through their own choices and we are following their example almost identically. Israel chose to listen and to take the advice of Job’s wife and not that of Job. They missed out on all of the restoration processes that God had for them and STILL has for them. Our society shall miss out on these blessings as well unless we turn from our wicked ways and to follow God once again.
I want to have the trust in God as Job did and I want nothing less for my family as well. I do not wish to witness great waves of destruction cover our shores or for our ground to open up and flood our lands with destruction. I do not wish for our society to be in such a weakened position that our enemies find our presence as easy prey and are allowed to cut off our head to completely end our dominative existence. But as of this moment, I cannot foresee anything else coming to pass for we have no desire to advance God’s Kingdom any longer. I pray that we open our eyes to God before it is too late but in all sadness I believe that we shall continue to focus on the world and not even understand the true meaning as to why our land has been defeated.
Prove me wrong! Church, turn from your evil ways and once again advance God’s Kingdom with your presence in the world. God is calling out to a dying world and we need to heed His call and shine His light to everyone who is hungry and thirsty for peace, hope, honesty, and true life. Only our trust in God can prove to the world that God is worth trusting in and that when one does all things come to an agreement. Let us live the faith and trust in God that Job did and if we have trust in this capacity, God guarantees that we will see a total restoration process that will blow our hearts.
DLB
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