The Weapons of the Righteous – Trust in the Lord and Cultivate Faithfulness

Before becoming a Christian, I learned never to trust any man who told me, “Trust me.”  This mistrust translated into my Christianity when I encountered many scriptures saying, “Trust in the Lord.”  Now, this was the same Lord who inspired these very words.  In essence, God was telling me to trust Him.  Frankly, that was very hard, especially after being let down by those close to me who were supposed to have been there for me through good and bad times.  Trusting God has been a slow and sometimes painful process.  But, our all-knowing God knew this beforehand and that’s why the last part of Psalm 37:3 in the NASB version tells us to cultivate faithfulness. Cultivating takes time because the land has to be prepared to promote growth.  This has to take place in our sometimes stony hearts, which have to be plowed to soften the ground and anything that would impede growth has to be removed so that when seeds of faithfulness are planted they will flourish.  The Lord wants us not only to trust Him, but also to be loyal and steadfast in our love for Him.  However, we have to be able to trust God first, in order to be faithful to Him.  It would be hard for me to be faithful to someone I couldn’t trust.  Therefore, a part of cultivating faithfulness is learning to trust God, remembering that even if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.  2 Timothy 2:13.  That’s just who He is – Faithful.

Earlier this year, God kept on telling me to trust Him through Bible verses, devotionals and friends.  I really wanted to, but I still struggled with the trust issue and then “it” happened.  No, the “it” that happened was not a sudden feeling of total trust of the Lord, but rather “it” was a bombardment of difficulties that left me in a quandary.  There was nothing else I could do but to give each and every adversity to God and let Him fix all that was overwhelming me, whether it was the uncertainty of continuing the ministry because funds were very low, or a monstrous mouse that somehow made its way into the house.  Only God could work it out, and He did.  He solved the problems of money, mouse and what seemed like a mountain of muddles.   And, just when I thought I was out of the quagmire, “it” happened again.  This time “it” was a spate of illnesses, including extreme exhaustion and unexplainable rashes by my shoulders. I wasted no time to give these maladies over to God, knowing that if I cast my burdens on Him, He would sustain me.  I regained energy and the rashes disappeared.  I still have other ailments, but like Job, I say, “Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him.”  Now, I don’t believe that God has caused any of my predicaments, but I know that none of what I have encountered has caught Him off guard.  He has allowed all these mini or major crises for a reason.  And, one such reason is to draw me closer to Him.  My pain and discomfort are not being wasted, and out of the mess will come a message about the great God who I serve.

 

If we are truthful to ourselves, we will admit that we have not trusted God in the way He would want us to.  How many of us truly trust in the Lord without leaning on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)?  Some of us trust in our symbolic horses and chariots (Psalm 20:7), others trust in themselves and are fools (Proverbs 28:26), while others trust in riches and fall (Proverbs 11:28), and still there are those who trust in deceptive words that are worthless (Jeremiah 7:8).  Too many of us fail to realize that if we trust in the God of hope, He fills us with joy and peace so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans15:13). 

Far too often, we have misplaced our trust, putting our confidence in man, but Jesus knew better (John 2:24-25).  Shouldn’t we trust the One who knows what is in the heart of man, while still showing us His loving kindness?  Shouldn’t our confidence be in the One who cannot be deceived?

Our God commands us to be strong and courageous and not to be afraid, or discouraged for He is with us wherever we go.  (Joshua 1:9)

But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.

Isaiah 43:1-2

I always want to shout, “Hallelujah!!!” when I read these verses.  How can I not trust a God who is with me through all of these?  I know that many will ask why didn’t He prevent these terrible things instead of let us go through them?  Well, we need to know that we need Him.  If everything went well in our lives, we would think that we could make it in this life on our own, and may miss out on life everlasting with Him.  God loves us too much to let us go to hell that easy.   Know that good can be very far from being Godly. But, how will we know this unless we have a deep relationship with the Father?  We tend to draw closer to Him during the hard times, and then we will know without a doubt that He is our refuge and strength, and an ever present help in times of trouble.  He proved Himself faithful to an adulterous people in the Bible, He has been faithful to the rebellious throughout history, and He continues to be faithful in these days when we are lovers of self.  As we are enveloped by God’s faithfulness and love, the harsh seasons we go through make us more like Him.  We are being crushed to be wine to quench the spiritual thirst of those around us and we are broken bread in Jesus’ hands to nourish His body.  And when we go through our desert place, God is taking us to a Promised Land that we are prepared for because our hearts are renewed to reflect His love and His faithfulness. Our story will be for His glory.  Therefore, I will choose to trust my Lord, my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2   I trust Him, because He is who He is, and I can say like Habakkuk:

Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will exult in the Lord,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Yes, we will have rough times, when all seems lost, but don’t give up the fight, because the battle is the Lord’s.  We don’t have to be discouraged when a vast army comes against us.  Trust in the Lord’s character.  He is faithful to us, even to the very end of the age and lovingly watches over us as we cultivate faithfulness in the dry dark times in our lives.  Let us trust Him to do a mighty work within us, for when we are weak, He is strong; when we cry alone, He is our Comforter; when we feel like our lives are in ruin, He is our Restorer; when the battalion of hell attacks us, He is our Deliverer; and when we are held in the bondage of sin, He is our Redeemer. Trust Him!