By Andrea Johnson
I trust in God, but to be honest, it’s easier to “trust” Him when He does things the way I would. I don’t mind trusting God to provide money for me to give to missions, but I would rather know where my own paycheck is coming from, thank you very much. I trust that “The Lord cares deeply when His loved ones die” (Psalm 116:15, NLT), but it’s harder to reassure myself of that promise when the loved one is a young mom. I understand that God promises that when I walk “through the fire of oppression,” I will not be burned up (Isaiah 43:2, NLT), but I would prefer to walk around the fire rather than through it.
We tend to think of faith as the audacity to believe God will answer our prayers, such as requests for healing or provision. We tend to measure that faith by the size of our requests and berate ourselves for any lack of faith. Yet I propose that the “amount” of faith we have is of little concern. In fact, Jesus told His disciples if they had faith as small as a mustard seed, nothing would be impossible.
What if we worried less about the amount of faith we can conjure up and instead focus on the One in whom we place our faith? If we could comprehend even a fraction of God’s goodness and power and glory, we would never again lack for faith. The picture John, Jesus’ disciple and friend, attempts to paint of Jesus in the book of Revelation defies vocabulary. In the Psalms, David tries his best but also fails to capture God’s glory. God Himself, in the book of Job, simply commands us to consider the wonder of His creation and thereby gain insight into His greatness. Abraham, who was called a friend of God, must have known Him well. He instinctively did whatever God asked him to do without hesitation.
As COVID-19 continues to spread, many of us are apprehensive. We don’t know what tomorrow or even the afternoon might look like. We would prefer to have some control over our lives. We want to know where our next meal is coming from and what that meal will be.
Maybe you’re forced to work from home right now and trying to balance your children’s demands with your own work responsibilities. Maybe you are unable to work for now and have no idea how you’ll make ends meet. How do we trust a God we don’t always understand, a God we can’t control?
When my children were very young, I used to pray this simple prayer at lunchtime:
God is great; God is good. And we thank Him for our food. By His hands we all are fed. Give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen.
If we really believe those first two sentences, it will change our lives. God is great. He is more than able to provide all we need. He lacks nothing. He is not sitting on His throne wringing His hands, wondering how things are going to work out. God is good. We can trust Him completely. His love is pure and steadfast.
If we focus on God’s amazing resume, we can be at peace no matter what. Our lives may be turned upside down, but God is the same God He always has been. And we can be assured, He will never abandon us.
