What Truly is Trust?
Ryan Kone // UGA Graduate
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. - C.S. Lewis
I have grappled with this topic in prayer and thought for some time. My prayer is that the Lord will use my words for his Kingdom however he sees fit. Nonetheless, I will use all the wisdom that he has given me to try and do the best that I can to convey what he wishes me to write regarding this topic.
Well, the topic is trust. Not just trusting God as we have heard thrown about in our christian culture. Not just the kind of trust that we say we have, but do not show. Not the kind of trust we sing about, but never truly take to our hearts. For example, there is a popular worship song titled “All I have is Christ”. I ask, do we give everything to Jesus? All our fears and doubts?
What about the song “Trust It All”? Is our life in His hands? Is our whole life for His glory?
You may be in an introspective state and that is good a place to be. It’s important to sit and reflect about the way we are living our life. It is easy to become complacent or fall into a groove of business without giving each day to Christ. He is whom we work for, he is whom our words represent, and we should do everything to be like Christ. Ah yes, but we are fallen. We are all sinners and have desires that go against God. It manifests different in each of us but we cannot say it is not there as Paul tells us, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for they are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Gal. 5:17 ESV). We are in a constant war within ourselves and we must fight for purity before the Lord and obedience to Jesus. My friends, that is where our joy is found when we abide in Christ and put to death the evil desires of our heart.
Nonetheless, we will have times when we fail to be obedient but, this is why we trust in the Rock that is our God. Let us really see the beauty of the Gospel as Tim Keller states it, "The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope”. We cannot fathom the love that God has for us. It is immeasurable and lasts forever. If you believe in King Jesus then you have the Spirit of the living God with you even to the end of the age. His Grace is enough. If we trust God with our salvation and eternal life then why aren’t we trusting him with everything else?
There are three topics I would like to discuss regarding what I’ve learned as I’ve tried to trust the Lord with my life.
REGARDING ANXIETY
I struggled throughout my entire childhood with severe anxiety. I used to cry most days because of it. I missed multiple days of school because of it. My mind would make my body physically sick so that I would not have to go to school, or go spend the night at a friends house, or even just try to sleep at night. I struggled to control the uncontrollable and to feel total security. I was afraid of the unknown and of death most of all. I thank God for pulling me from that pit and teaching me that the only thing we can control is ourselves, what we do and what we say. Anything could happen at anytime without our control. But God showed me I was secure in Him:
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us - 1 John 5:13-14
It is far better for us to give our lives and believe in Christ for he is in control of all things. Nothing in this world can truly harm you when you put all your trust in God. He has almighty power in his hands and he wants to hold you up with them. He wants to hear from you in prayer and he wants to give you a joy that is more bountiful than any other.
Dallas Willard once said, “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life”. I believe that we must listen to the words that Jesus told his disciples in the boat during the great storm, “Peace, be still”. Jesus never worried and he never was too busy to love, to pray, to encourage, and to be present in each moment God had given him. Let us be present in this life that God has given us and enjoy it. Our life is fleeting, yet is in the hands of a good, good Father. A Father that will give you an everlasting joy and has a will for each of us.
REGARDING WILL
God’s will for our lives. What a fun topic of discussion. This is a top struggle for this generation, my generation. A wise mentor of mine once told me, "If you are seeking God and obeying his commandments then you won’t miss what he has planned for you”. This was a message that I needed to hear and I thank God for that reminder. So many of us want to follow the Lord, but don’t know where to begin. It begins with discipline in knowing that we must be in the Word everyday and in prayer everyday. We are weak in this life and must remember we are dependent on the Lord. God makes us strong when we need to be and he uses us in different way in different seasons of life. He is guiding us from place to place and action to action. He is our wise counselor. Seek his counsel. We lean on him for everything we do.
However, he has also asked us to seek wisdom and to make choices in this life. Pastor Vic Doss likes to say, “Do the next right thing”. I love its simplicity and implication. If we are obeying God then when a choice comes our way, we should consult wisdom and go to the Lord in prayer. After that we make a decision. We do it. For God says this, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). Take the leap and get out of the boat when those times come because Jesus will be there to walk with you. Keep your eyes fixed on him and abide in him. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Often, we do not know His ways or understand his plans, but we know he is working everything for our good. For who are we as creation to think our creators plans are worse than our own?
Finally, trials and hardships will come. It is inevitable. However, God teaches us through Job that we must always trust Him. Job laments, he cries out and he struggles immensely but he knows the steadfast love the Lord has for him. For Job says, “shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). When bad circumstances come our way, stay strong and always fight to finish the race the Lord has given us. It will always be worth it, no matter what happens, to choose the Lord.
REGARDING LIFE
Have you seen the Rocky movies? Opinion: Rocky IV is the best one. If you have not seen them, then go watch them. It’s a series of films based on a boxer named Rocky Balboa. A poor man from Philly who becomes heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He overcomes so many obstacles and takes beating after beating in the ring, but has an incredible determination to keep fighting. He says this, “The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward”. The Bible tells us we live in a broken world. It tells us we have a race to run. It tells us how to walk it, it even tells us where we are going, but it doesn’t tell us the length, the obstacles, the curves, or the pitstops. This generation loves spontaneous adventures, well life is the biggest one. Trust God with each step you take and let the fun begin.
The hope of the world is the Gospel and the Church and let us keep our faithful focus on that truth. I am going to give you a post reading assignment that I hope you will do for the rest of your life. Build your life around the Church, share the Good News whenever you can, make disciples, love well, work hard, and take joy in the life God has given. We are all intricately put together for him and through him for this exact time to bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
“We are all intricately put together for him and through him for this exact time to bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.”
P.S.
We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. - 1 Thessalonians 5:28
Ryan graduated for the University of Georgia with degrees in anthropology and sociology. Ryan served as a college intern and tribe leader at WFBC. Jesus has changed his life in drastic ways and he has a heart for people hearing the life changing Good News of Jesus all over the world. He loves listening to long in-depth history podcasts, anything related with the sport of baseball, and experiencing new travel destinations.
“Visit many good books, but live in the Bible.” for “a Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” -Charles Spurgeon
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