By Chris WittsTuesday 5 Dec 2023Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
I like the old story of the man who heard that his neighbourhood was flooding due to heavy rain. So he got down on his knees and prayed, “Dear God, save me from the coming flood.” Now the water started to rise and a truck came past and the driver invited him to hop on board. Get on the truck and they’d go to higher ground.
Now, he said, “God will save me” and the water level increased. A woman came by in a row boat, not long after. Jump into the boat, she said, and I’ll take us both to safety. No, he said. God will save me. Well, by this time, he climbed into the top of his house and a helicopter flew by and let down a rope, only to refuse the pilot’s offer of help. And the man drowned and he went to heaven. A very angry man, and God said to him, ‘What are you doing here?’
He said, God, I’m mad at you. I asked you to save me from the flood that day, and you didn’t and God smiled and said, ‘Look, I sent you a truck, a boat and a helicopter. How much more saving do you really need?’
Thinking about that story, which has lots of applications – Trust is a bit like this
I think we want to trust God. But somehow in our nature we need to have him appear himself and tell us all the things that we need to do. And we often find it very difficult to accept what he sends us as his answer. And God does send many answers. If only we will see them.
So it’s like parachuting. In theory, it sounds fine, but to actually get a parachute and to do what it’s designed for, you’ve got to get on the plane and jump out of it first, and that’s the scary bit. So in life we make bargains with God, and perhaps you’ve done this yourself. You say, OK, God, if this happens or that happens, then I will really know that it’s you talking to me. And if that happens today or tomorrow, then I’ll trust you.
But if I don’t see some signs, well, I think it’s just my imagination and I won’t listen to you anymore. Have you ever thought like that?
I think that we do have problems in this area of faith, and we forget one important thing that we can’t see God. That God is the unexpected God, He’s mysterious, He’s eternal. And we do forget that he may be standing there right in front of us. We don’t see and we fail to trust him and lose the opportunities that he’s given us. Is it because we’re afraid to leave ourselves open like that? And I think the answer is yes. In Hebrews 11:1 we have this tremendous verse from the Bible.
“To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.”
So having trust is described as confident expectation that God shares our lives because he’s a loving God. Here is a God who wants the best for us, even when we don’t understand what the best is. And even if it’s painful, trusting him means taking a different road in life to to what we think is best in the Old Testament. Abraham and Sarah actually stared in astonishment when they were told that they would be the parents of a great nation.
And they knew they were too old to have Children. And Sarah thought it was a big joke. But the promise was fulfilled despite their uncertainties, and it was fulfilled because they trusted God. And do you remember Moses? And he was told to go back to Egypt and to lead the people out of slavery?
How could he, just a man, go to Pharaoh and ask these people to be released? He was really fearful. He was uncertain. And God insisted he go because it wasn’t Moses that had the power. It was God. So you’ll see that I’m saying that trusting God doesn’t mean you won’t have serious doubts. There are lots of people. The disciples gave up their ordinary lives to come and follow Jesus. Jesus said, “Well, come with me. There’s work to be done. Trust me.”
So if we if we’re going to really trust God, we have to be open to what he lays out in front of us, and we’ve got to accept the answers that God has. So it’s all about trusting God, not trusting ourselves. So I think it’s worth thinking about for just a few moments.
Let’s Pray
Lord, we want to praise you for being our Saviour. Our righteousness is not our own, but because of your sacrifice for us. And we can come into a peaceful relationship with you, Our Lord. You’ve become our shield and we find our safety and our refuge. And we trust in you today. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.