Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” (Psalms 37:74)
We live in a world that teaches us that we are at the center of whatever success or failure we experience. You know the old saying, “There’s nothing you can’t accomplish if you put your mind to it”.
That all sounds real good, but it’s not true. Actually, it’s a form of humanism and we see it every day. So it’s no wonder that we often face problems in our own lives with the notion that we can find the solutions. We don’t need any help, even God’s. Yet, when we realize that our problems are larger than our ability to handle them, we often turn to God. Unfortunately, many times it’s too late for God to repair the damage that has been done.
The Bible is full of stories about men and women who thought they had all the answers only to find out that they could not save themselves from what life brought their way. It’s the foundation upon which Plan of Salvation is built.
We must eventually realize that we can never save ourselves from our own pride and folly. True salvation can only come if we realize that we are born to sin, will continue to sin, and will never be able to solve the problems that come from a sinful nature. That’s why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) In other words, all Christians ultimately understand that most problems, in and of themselves, have no lasting solutions. Real peace and joy comes not from life, but from the relationship we have with God, who loves us in spite of ourselves.
As Christians, we have to place our trust not in what we know, but in what we believe. That’s why the Bible describes faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11: 1) Indeed, the Apostle Paul was right, “We live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
I don’t have to read the Bible to understand about the faithless. In fact, I don’t have to look any farther than my own life. For example, several years ago, my wife and I helped to host a concert at our local church. We love Southern Gospel music and decided to bring a marquee group on a Friday night for an evening of music and worship. We prayed about how to finance the event and decided to let the Lord handle that problem with a love offering. I remember telling my wife, “If salvation is free, how could we put a charge on what God has planned for that night?”
As Friday drew closer, I realized that we had scheduled the function on the same night when our local high school not only had a football game, but a homecoming football game. And to top it all off, weather forecasters were predicting a bad storm. I am ashamed to admit it, but I called my wife and told her, “I bet we don’t have 300 people show up”.
Robbie reminded me that I needed to let God take care of that problem. Indeed, the Bible reminds us “The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still.” (Exodus 14:14) “Let’s just do our part,” she said, “God hasn’t let us down yet.”
Well, you guessed it. She was right. 800 people showed up in spite of homecoming and bad weather. And one of those 800 realized that he, too, could no longer rely on his ability to handle his problems. He became a Christian and like me is also is learning to walk by faith and not by sight.
That experience taught me that I had a long way to go in my relationship with God. We all do. Learning to trust what we cannot see is difficult. But trusting only what we can see will never allow us to have the relationship that Christ wants for us. Sometimes we simply need to be still and give God a chance to show up.
Share on Facebook