Trust

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusted in him, and I am helped:

therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

(Psalm 28:7)

A few days ago I drove home in a cold rain storm. As I walked up the wet steps leading to our front porch, I saw a small dog lying on the doormat, shivering. There was fear in his eyes. Being a dog lover, I crouched down, extended my hand for him to sniff, and began speaking to him in reassuring tones. I opened the door and he walked in out of the cold, wet, and wind into our warm sheltered house. It did not take long for me to see how trusting this little dog was. As I write this, he is laying on my lap asleep. Do I trust Christ this much when life gets cold, rainy, and windy? Trust goes beyond a mere mental belief - trust is putting all of the weight of our cares upon the Saviour and just resting in him. The Apostle John showed us this trust:

Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

(John 13:23)

We are to lean on God and not upon our own limited understanding:

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

(Proverbs 3:5)

In the early days of our country, wildfires would often sweep through the Great Plains, burning everything in their path for miles upon miles. Prairie Chickens lived in those plains. Sometimes when men walked through the plains after a fire they would come across the blackened body of a prairie chicken. Upon tapping the carcass with a boot, healthy chicks would scamper out. The hen gave its life for its chicks just as Jesus Christ gave his life for his children. We can trust him.

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

(Psalm 91:4)

The devil does not want us to lean on God and take refuge under his wings. In the days of King Hezekiah, the huge army of Assyria had come to Judah, seeking to destroy the people's trust in God in order to get them to surrender. This is what the devil desires God's children to do and he can be very convincing:

Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?

(II Kings19:10-11)

But Hezekiah sought the LORD his God. God then used him to speak words that are what God's people often need to hear today:

Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

(II Chronicles 32:7-8)

Shortly thereafter, God destroyed the entire Assyrian army without God's people needing to lift so much as a finger.

It is in our nature to fear when trouble knocks at our door. God understands this and he can give us the power to trust him just as the psalmist simply trusted him centuries ago:

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

(Psalm 56:3)

There are great blessings that God has in store for them who trust him:

O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

(Psalm 84:12)

Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!

(Psalm 31:19)

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

(Psalm 5:11)