E102 - Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions - The Attributes of GOD - He is Trustworthy - Part 3
Hope’s Harbor
Gritty Bible Devotions
Episode # 101
Title: The Attributes of GOD – Can We Trust Them? Part 2
Date: April 17, 2023
Contact: info@hopesharbor.net
Key verse(s): 2 Corinthians 1:10 – ‘Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us…’
Intro: This brief excursion into faith vs trust came about as notes for the following episode were written. As happens sometimes when being cognizant of the Holy Spirit’s right to intervene in any message concerning His Word to us, I developed this devotion accordingly.
The context of the key verse, 2 Corinthians 1:10, is that Paul explained in previous verses how he and his traveling companions were recently in dire straits. He tells some of the stresses they endured and did so I believe, in order to encourage the Corinthians how to also endure their hardships, and that is endured with their hope intact. But hope in what?
Listen to the key verse again, 2 Corinthians 1:10 – ‘Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us…’ This reveals hope is not so much in what, as in whom.
Devotion focus: Trusting GOD’s Character –
Recently I’ve gone through a discouraging time in which my faith in GOD was tested. The discouragement was so strong during a couple of days I was forced to stop and assess the circumstances.
While thinking through events occurring over the last few years, I noticed the current set of circumstances was causing me to doubt I had my life on the right track. This had to do with accomplishing the calling GOD gave me back in 2005 to become a writer, and then to write a book based on a message He gave me in 2007. The calling and message came to me as a thought so clear I attributed them to GOD.
My faith in what I heard was so strong and I trusted GOD so much, to the point I retired as soon as eligible in March 2008. The significance of retiring then was I had planned to stay employed another 10 years at my current job, and then apply to teach at the national explosives school. And if hired, to teach there 10 years, then retire.
My plan was a sound financial plan. Then GOD revealed this other plan, His plan. A different plan. GOD’s plan involved a $40,000 per year pay cut. Without going into all the math, my plan would have left me with $700,000 in savings. GOD’s plan, well, there’s the rub.
After 15 years of retirement as of March this year, 2023, and trying to make a go of being a published writer, I came up against a distressing realization: I’m not as good a writer as I first thought, and my first book so far, bombed.
Now, this is where having faith and trusting GOD took on different meanings. Meanings other than what I’ve believed my whole Christian life going back to 1977. That’s a long time, y’all.
But faith and trust are related and involve similar definitions.
These definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary:
Faith: ‘complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
Trust: ‘firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. "Relations have to be built on trust"
And these definitions are from the Strong’s Concordance:
Faith: From G3982; persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstract constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself: - assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.
Trust: From G4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is, credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well-being to Christ): - believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.
From G1680; to expect or confide: - (have, thing) hope (-d) (for), trust.
Now here is an interesting discovery: when I read through some of the verses using the word trust as having faith in something or someone, the context of these was something people were doing, as opposed to sitting there holding a belief.
Follow this thought with me, it stands to reason we must have belief or faith in something or someone before we trust ourselves to take action based upon that trust.
But here’s what I discovered with my recent difficulties: I was sitting here holding a belief and when circumstances caused me to doubt my belief I was left with a choice I didn’t see in the beginning.
Instead, what I saw in the beginning and even going back several years, I saw depressing circumstances culminating in utter discouragement. Subconsciously I was depending on circumstances to confirm my faith. Do you see any problem with this?
I had faith, but it was rattled by events that were happening contrary to what I thought should be happening. When I stopped to take that assessment mentioned earlier and realized my mistake of allowing circumstances to cause doubt, I had to wonder… what now?
And this is when I discovered an aspect of trust unknown to me before this. The best way I know how to describe it is faith was an intellectual event for me. But now trust, as in trusting GOD, became an action word. I saw that I had to make a decision to trust GOD, regardless of the circumstances. And listen, those circumstances were, and still are as of this writing, very convincing of my failure. Failure as a writer.
But wait, didn’t GOD call me to this, to write this book? I still believe He did. So I tried to trust GOD by telling Him that I trust Him, but I felt like a hypocrite because my feelings were telling me one thing as I tried to utter words of trust to GOD.
Let me ask, what would you do in this predicament? Well, this is what I did and am doing: I chose to trust GOD and at the same time stop allowing the distressing thoughts to run wild through my mind whenever I happened to think about the current circumstances. It’s more difficult than you might think, but I’m convinced this is a process of changing how I think about GOD’s will and how it works out. Especially when His will seems contrary to common sense.
Summary: Faith and trust are related, but at times must be treated differently when it comes to an intellectual belief vs trust requiring action.
Action to consider: It takes persistent prayer to GOD, asking Him to help you see where you may be living under the undue influence of circumstances. You’ll know something is amiss when circumstances go against common sense and logic and yet you are in GOD’s will. How will you know? By being in GOD’s Word DAILY. Reading the Bible once or twice during the year won’t cut it here.
An online article at Christianity Today said that in 2021 26 million people stopped reading their Bibles (the link is in the show notes). Only 50% reported reading it a few times each year before covid hit. Please don’t let this happen to you.
Next week’s devotion: Attributes of GOD – Unchanging Nature, All-knowledge, and Wisdom