Trust in the Lord
Introduction
One of the biggest obstacles to faith is the suffering of the innocent. It is usually one of the first questions raised in an Alpha small group: ‘If there is a God who loves us, how come there is so much suffering in the world? How come there is such injustice and oppression?
These are very important and necessary questions but there are no easy answers. Yet God is able to meet us in the midst of suffering and struggles. Extraordinarily, it is often the people who have gone through the greatest suffering who have the strongest faith. They testify to the presence of God with them, strengthening and comforting them in the midst of their pain. Betsie ten Boom, as she lay dying in Ravensbrück concentration camp, turned to her sister Corrie and said, ‘We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still. They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been here.’
Faith involves trusting in the Lord. The people of God in the Bible looked out on a world of suffering. But they trusted in the Lord despite what they saw.
Psalm 82:3–8
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance.
Commentary
Trust in the Lord in the midst of injustice and oppression
How do we respond to all the injustice in the world? The psalmist trusts that ultimately God will put things right: ‘You’ve got the whole world in your hands!’ (v.8b, MSG).
It is a great blessing to live under a good system of justice. It is a terrible curse to live under corrupt and incompetent judges. But ultimately, God will call them to account.
‘God presides’ over all other expressions of power (‘gods’) (v.1). Trust that God is 'President’ – he is in ultimate control.
‘God… puts all the judges in the dock. “Enough! You’ve corrupted justice long enough”’ (v.2, MSG). But faith in God’s ‘presidency’ should never lead to complacency or passivity. The psalmist is passionate to see the world changed.
We are not only to trust God but also we have a duty to do everything within our power to see that justice is done. We must act on behalf of the poor: ‘Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked’ (vv.3–4).
A time will come when things will be put right; injustice will be removed and there will be deliverance from, for example, corrupt governments. He prays: ‘Rise up, O God, judge the earth’ (v.8a).
While we too hope in God’s final judgment, we anticipate that justice by acting now on behalf of the poor and oppressed. We should raise the same challenge to those in power, ‘How long will you defend the cause of the unjust?’
Prayer
Acts 27:13–43
13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the ‘North-Easter’, swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. … 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: ‘Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, “Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.’
33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. ‘For the last fourteen days,’ he said, ‘you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food – you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.’ 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.
39 When daylight came, they did not recognise the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. … 41 But the ship struck a sand-bar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.
42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.
Commentary
Trust in the Lord in the midst of disaster and turmoil
When things go wrong in your life are you sometimes tempted to panic? I know that I am. If everything is going well in our lives, it is relatively easy to trust in the Lord. However, there are times when we face major challenges to our faith. Among his many challenges, trials and sufferings, Paul was shipwrecked three times (2 Corinthians 11:23b–25).
In today’s passage, we read of one of these occasions. At first it looked as if Paul had been wrong in predicting disaster as the weather was perfect for the journey (Acts 27:13), but then a hurricane began (v.14). It must have been a terrifying experience. Luke writes, ‘[they] finally gave up all hope of being saved’ (v.20).
Yet, Paul kept on trusting in the Lord, telling those on board to ‘have faith in God’, that God was still in control and that he had promised to rescue them (vv.23–25).
It took this disaster for them to listen to Paul. Extraordinarily, Paul the prisoner appears to be completely in charge. He tells them, ‘you really should have listened to me’ (v.21, MSG). He is the one who stops the sailors jumping ship (v.30).
This is a great example of leadership without title or position. The best leaders are able to lead, in whatever circumstances, by influence and persuasion.
The turmoil gave Paul an opportunity to speak about his faith. He takes the opportunity although he must have been suffering greatly from hunger and the effects of the storm.
Paul saw himself as belonging to God (‘the God whose I am’) and being his servant (‘whom I serve’) (v.23). But God was not only his owner and master; Paul trusted God and had a deep assurance of his love. He knew that God wanted the very best for him, as he does for you today.
Paul assured them, ‘Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head’ (v.34). And, ‘after he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat’ (v.35).
In spite of disaster striking, God was in ultimate control: ‘The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan’ (vv.42–43a).
God gave Paul favour in the eyes of people as well as in God’s own eyes. As a result, ‘everyone reached land in safety’ (v.44).
Nothing could stop God from saving Paul and using him to work out his purposes and save lives.
Prayer
2 Kings 18:5–36
5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the LORD was with him. He was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
17 The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.
28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, ‘Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD...
31 ‘Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: make peace with me and come out to me.'
36 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, ‘Do not answer him.’
Commentary
Trust in the Lord in the midst of evil and distress
It is such a relief to read, at last, about a man who ‘trusted in the Lord’ (18:5). Hezekiah ‘trusted in, leaned on and was confident in the Lord’ (v.5, AMP). He put his whole trust in the God of Israel… And God, for his part, held fast to him through all his adventures’ (vv.5–6, MSG).
When Hezekiah became king, one of his first actions was to destroy all the things that prevented the people from obeying God (vv.1–4). Perhaps there are things in your life that are a barrier to you obeying God. Although they may seem vital, there is nothing as vital as obedience to God. God wants to help us to obey him – ask him and he will honour you as he honoured Hezekiah: ‘And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook’ (v.7).
In 701 BC, Hezekiah faced a very powerful enemy in the form of the king of Assyria who mocked and ridiculed him. This story is not fictional; you can read about these historical events not only in the Bible but also in other ancient accounts. In Sennacherib’s account of these events he writes, ‘As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke.’ He speaks arrogantly about Hezekiah being overwhelmed by ‘the terror inspiring splendour of my lordship’.
Sennacherib scorned Hezekiah’s dependence on the Lord (vv.20,22): ‘Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord… he is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will deliver us.”’ (vv.30–32).
Somehow Hezekiah must have won the respect of his people because they followed his instructions: ‘But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”’ (v.36).
In the face of his powerful enemy, Hezekiah prayed. ‘He tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord’ (19:1). A delegation went to the prophet Isaiah and told him, ‘This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace… pray for the remnant that still survives’ (vv.3–4).
Isaiah’s response was, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard’ (v.6). Not only did Hezekiah himself trust in the Lord, but he also persuaded the people to trust in the Lord.
Over the years, I have written beside this passage a list of the challenges we have faced. It is amazing to look back over the years and see the way in which God has delivered us in so many areas.
Today, whatever challenges you are facing, write them down, put your trust in God, believe that he will be with you and give you success in whatever he asks you to do.
Prayer
Pippa adds
Trust in God when things don’t look good.
We see this again in 2 Kings 18 and in Acts 27:33.
God can turn what seems impossible around.
Verse of the Day
Psalm 82:3
‘Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.’
Thought for the Day
Trust in God when things don’t look good.
- Pippa Gumbel
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References
Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place (Hodder & Stoughton, 2004).
The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel (commentary formerly known as Bible in One Year) ©Alpha International 2009. All Rights Reserved.
Compilation of daily Bible readings © Hodder & Stoughton Limited 1988. Published by Hodder & Stoughton Limited as the Bible in One Year.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.