My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. (Isaiah 55:8)
Every Christian will say they trust God, but the true test of trusting God comes when the storm winds of life begin to blow and the waves of challenge begin to crash over us. Today I have a word that I hope will provide both comfort and a challenge for you.
For one hour on Sunday morning we will readily say we are trusting in God. But from Monday through Saturday is where the rubber of our redemption meets the road of our reflection. When the sky is blue and the clouds fleecy, it is easy to reflect the character of Christ and demonstrate great trust in our God. But when the dark clouds of doubt, distress, disease, disappointment, and defeat roll in, we have a tendency to shrink back from our Savior and begin trusting in everything other than Jesus. We begin looking to the self instead of the Savior.
Throughout my years as a pastor, I have found Isaiah 55:8, our verse for today, to be a source of both comfort and challenge, as I hope it will be for you. The text reminds us that life does not always go according to our plan. In fact, often it does not. Why? Because God’s plan is always better than our plan. He knows the end from the beginning; His ways are so much higher than our ways, and His purpose for your life and mine is not to make us comfortable but to make us Christlike. When we receive, understand, and live by this truth, we have a hope that simply cannot disappoint.
The true test of trusting God is only found in the test!
Where in your life have you been going through a test? Have you been trusting in your Savior? Or something else? Remember, whatever storm you are facing today, or will face in the future, God sent it for two reasons: your good and His glory. We may not understand all that God is doing when we are in the middle of the storm. In fact, we may never fully understand on this side of the grave. And therein lies the challenge in today’s message: to trust in Him at all times, not just during the “good” times. When we look to the cross, we can and should rest assured that our God is for us, He will never forsake us, and He is in the middle of the storm with us.
Let that truth set you free to trust Jesus, regardless of the test you are facing.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 