Last night, I was the driver as my wife made a mad dash to several places. She was on a mission to find just the right wall hangings for a new Assisted Living facility. Since I had no skills to offer, I just walked around and looked at interesting items. It was intriguing to read some of the cute sayings on knickknacks and plaques. One made me laugh and another made me think. Gone Crazy, back in a moment made me pause and enjoy a good laugh after a long day. I was forced to think as I read the words of another wall hanging that went something like this: The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you. I believe the statement, but do I really accept its meaning for my life? How about you?
Are we willing to gladly accept the will of God, and trust His sovereignty over every aspect of our lives? Intellectually, yes! But in the everyday struggles of life, we all battle with our own goals and desires for happiness versus what God ordains for us. Quite frankly, the hurried pace at which we all live can cause us to spend very little time actually listening to hear the will of God. And therefore, most of the Christian living I see is people doing the best they can, yet never really feeling comfortable that they are hearing the will of God. How about you?
In my own life, I am convinced that changing to better fulfill the will of God is an adventure worth striving for. In the process of really trying to ratchet back the pace of my external and internal life (work in progress), I stumbled upon a book titled An Unhurried Life by Alan Fadling. In reading, I found another quote that made me pause and take note. Take a moment yourself to read the larger context, and then zero in on the bolded words…
When I found myself slowing down inside, the Lord seemed to say, “Don’t talk trust and live worry.” As a pastor, I often recommended truths that I was not practicing. Anxiety drove a lot of what I said and did. And Jesus was inviting me to live with trust in Him instead of worry.
Don’t talk trust and live worry! It seems to me that talking trust and living worry is the 21st century Christian way. Talking about trusting God is easy to do. Living without worry? … that’s an entirely different story. But wait a minute; if it’s God’s will for us to trust (in every situation), and if worry is a sin, can’t you and I begin to talk trust and live trust. Absolutely, but it will never happen without a strong conviction of His sovereignty, and a consistent intake of His Word. I am convinced that Christ-followers can live trust-filled lives with a strong sense of God’s protection. How about you?
I am realistic enough to know that you and I will always battle with some tension in knowing the will of God, then talking trust and walking in worry.
As I close, I’d like to share one last statement. It changed the life of Hudson Taylor (a great missionary of years ago) and can certainly benefit you and me. It was said of Hudson that he came to a place where … he stopped striving to be faithful and started trusting the Faithful One. Could it be that you and I carry our burdens (trying to be faithful), when we should be shifting the weight of our every care to our Sovereign Lord, Protector and Provider? Sounds good to me! How about you?
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