This post will end my series on what it means to be a Christian, and I want to finish this by coming back to the very simple. In all that I have covered in this series, in all the doctrines that are involved with it, and all that I didn’t cover, I can summarize ALL of it with two simple commands: trust and obey. One of the classic hymns is “Trust and Obey” (or it’s alternate first-line title: “When We Walk with the Lord”), and it would be good to listen to it before moving on in this post.
I can argue technical details with anyone, but it really boils down to this question: “Do you believe God or not?” I am not asking you to believe my interpretation. I am not asking you about your opinions on the matter. I am asking if you believe what God said or not. After a recent sermon, my pastor and I got to share about how simple the faith is. While having greater knowledge of the faith is great and awesome, it boils down to the simple childlike faith that isn’t childish.
Faith, in its simplest and least-theologically defined form is trust. When we look at all of Jesus’ rebukes of His disciples, He frequently says, “You of little faith,” or “Why did you doubt?” Jesus is asking: “Don’t you believe me? Don’t you trust me?” And how are we any different? How many times have we failed to trust God even on the simplest of things? We so readily trust Him for our salvation (so we claim), but we panic over our finances when the economy tanks or when a very minor virus passes through. It’s one thing to not be presumptuous and to presume God will do something we call for, but on things that God promised to take care of, why do we struggle with this? God says, “Trust me.” We have all sorts of theological books about the faithfulness of God. We have many biographies showcasing how God delivers time and time again for those who believe Him, yet someone our generation has believed that lies that “That was for yesteryear.” “That was for them.” “They were special.” “That was just a one-time thing.” What happened to believing God?
George Mueller is a good example of this. He saw the churches and ministers going around from church to church to raise money for what they were doing. He didn’t like these models because in reality, they were not trusting God for their finances. They were trusting men and other churches. They would say that they are trusting God to provide what they needed and to prompt their givers to give what they needed to, but was that really trusting God? I can’t say it is. In his prayer time, Mueller asked God for a current, physical, visible, tangible demonstration of what truly trusting God looked like. He started an orphanage, and he absolutely refused to tell a single person about the needs of the orphanage. Only the staff knew at best. He brought every need before the Lord. One time, they were out of food entirely, so they still set the table and prayed for God to provide. A milk truck broke down right at their gates and donated milk and cheese. Mueller not only raised 1000+ orphans but was able to sponsor numerous foreign missionaries including Hudson Taylor. It was said that $1-2 million passed through Mueller (in the 1800s) over the years. Mueller only saw himself as a channel for God’s provision. That is a prime example of what it means to trust God.
Another analogy given by my pastor is like sailing on a boat. The moment of conversion is getting on the boat and departing from the dock. The sanctification process is when we are sailing across the ocean. Glorification is when we arrive on the other side. But the whole time, it is Jesus piloting the boat, not us. If we trust Jesus, we won’t be complaining about where He guides us, where He leads us, which route He takes, etc. When things don’t make sense, we simply trust that God knows what He is doing.
But trust by itself is meaningless. Trust calls for action. Jesus didn’t settle with merely intellectual belief. In every call for belief and trust, He tied it together with obedience and action. Jesus said multiple times that those who are His are those who obey Him. In our culture where “experts” are treated like gods, if your doctor says something is wrong with you and to take such and such medicine, if you believe him you will take the medicine. If you have a financial advisor and he suggests certain things, if you believe that advisor you will do what he suggests. Why is it not the same thing with the very God whom we declare to be both Lord and Savior? It’s because we do not see Jesus as Lord. We do not recognize His position as the ruler and master of the universe. We only see Him as a good luck charm, a genie who is all-powerful to get us what we want but not sovereign to determine what happens and how. Jesus’ commands are not heavy. They are not brutal. They are only difficult when we kick against them. But if we trust Jesus and then submit to His commands, while there will be challenges and difficulties, life will be much easier to process and handle. Why? Because no matter how hard it gets, all our circumstances are dependent upon Christ, not ourselves.
There is a huge benefit to trusting in God. We aren’t responsible for how things turn out. All we have to worry about is trusting God and being obedient to the best of our abilities. We don’t have to worry about the outcome. You may say, “I have no confidence in myself to obey God.” Guess what? God has no confidence in you either. He has taken your inability and your stupidity into the equation long before asking you to join in with Him. It’s not even about you anyway. It’s about God and His agenda. We simply get the privilege of going along for the ride.
For me, it’s been a very fun ride. For about 20 years of my life, I have known virtually nothing about the future. All I have known is what I am doing now and where my general direction is going. I have never tried to plan out what I will be doing 5 or 10 years from now. I know better than to try. Why? Because God has always redirected my steps. I teach physics and advanced physics at a local high school, and I will stay there until God moves me on. That could be in two years, or it could be in 20 years; I don’t know. I just know that God has me where I am, and I am not to move until He gives me another assignment. This is what I know about trusting and obeying God. I have no regrets in doing so.
I do hope this blog post series has encouraged you, strengthened your faith, and helped you understand what comes with the faith. It is so much more than just a set of creeds; it is a total lifestyle. It’s a very simple faith, too – just trust and obey.
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