O my soul,
How important is it to trust the Lord?
And when I say trust, I mean completely depend upon him, fully committed, with no way out and no room for doubt. No wavering. No second guessing. None at all.
Jesus said … “Do not fear, only believe.”
― Mark 5:36
Such trust is life and health and strength. Why would anyone not live like this? And yet many do not.
Recall with me the sorry saga of the Israelites failing to trust the Lord, their ongoing enslavement to fear and uncertainty and doubt. And recall too the Lord’s uncompromising response, his righteous anger burning against them, his chosen people, his beloved ones.
What reason did the Israelites have to trust the Lord?
In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap. In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light. He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
― Psalm 78:12-16
This is the God who miraculously delivered his people from slavery in Egypt, parting the waters of the Red Sea so they could pass safely. And led them through the desert, miraculously guiding them and remaining with them. And slaked their thirst in the desert, again, miraculously.
And he fed them with manna from heaven.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”
― Exodus 16:4
Here was the test. This is the trust test. It’s the test that the Israelites faced time and again. It’s the test that we ourselves face time and again.
And how did they do, those Israelites, those chosen people, those beloved ones?
They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.
― Psalm 78:11
They forgot all the reasons they had to trust him! Their earlier fear of the Lord and belief in him was so feeble it had simply evaporated like the morning mist.
But it gets worse.
Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?”
― Psalm 78:17-20
Can you hear the sneering doubt here, the sheer contempt for their provider, the complete absence of trust? O my soul, be appalled.
Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel, because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.
― Psalm 78:21-22
Paul explains.
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
― 1 Corinthians 10:1-5
They drank from the Rock which was Christ no less and yet they failed the trust test. Overthrown means struck down. In judgment for their lack of trust most of them were struck down by the Lord, their hitherto protector and provider, the Faithful One. Most of them!
The anger of God rose against them, and he killed the strongest of them and laid low the young men of Israel.
― Psalm 78:31
Why did this happen?
Because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.
― Psalm 78:22
This is how important it is to trust, to believe, to depend upon the Lord without wavering.
And what of our own trust test?
O my soul, even when things are very dark indeed you must trust the Lord and depend upon him relentlessly. He is faithful and true. Never doubt that!
Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
― Isaiah 50:10
Trust is tested when our lives are at stake, when our hearts are breaking, when things are entirely beyond us and all we can do is depend upon the Lord, upon his faithfulness to all that he has promised and to all that he is, when the way ahead is unseeable. But without the unseeable there can be no faith! O my soul, will you trust him then? Will you trust him now? Will you continue to trust him?
Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
― Romans 8:24-25
O my soul, in this waiting time of unseeing are you tempted to doubt? Are you tempted to despair? Are you tempted to run ahead of the Lord’s will in your own strength? Resist! You must resist! Hold on to what is true. Hold on to the one whose name is Faithful and True.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
― 1 Corinthians 10:13
You can endure this, O my soul. Repudiate doubt and all that drags you down, and trust him. Trust him! You must endure with steadfast faith, believing and not doubting. Trust Jesus, whose name is Faithful and True!
The penalty for failing the truth test is severe, as we’ve seen. For standing firm, however, there are two stupendous prizes.
Firstly,
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
― Psalm 37:5
Trust in him, O my soul, and he will act!
And secondly,
The LORD’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.
― Psalm 147:11 NLT
By doing this, by walking this path of trust and dependence and unwavering hope in him, waiting with patience, you can delight our Heavenly Father. You can delight him! What more motivation could you have to choose to trust?
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
― Romans 15:13
O my soul, put all your hope in his unfailing love and trust in the faithfulness of your Heavenly Father, and so delight him! 🙏❤️