Tag: Trust

Do You Know?

Published on by James TravisLeave a comment

Here in Job 37.14-20 we see Elihu giving Job one last piece of advice and he asks, simply, are you really all that you think you are, Job? Do you know all that you think you know?

“Hear this, O Job;
stop and consider the wondrous works of God.
Do you know how God lays his command upon them
and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?
Do you know the balancings of the clouds,
the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge,
you whose garments are hot
when the earth is still because of the south wind?
Can you, like him, spread out the skies,
hard as a cast metal mirror?
Teach us what we shall say to him;
we cannot draw up our case because of darkness.
Shall it be told him that I would speak?
Did a man ever wish that he would be swallowed up?

Despite his relative youth (32.6-10), Elihu seems to be hitting closer to home with his questions of Job. Rather than just suggest that Job must have sinned somewhere, somehow (32.3), Elihu seems to have considered his response a little more deeply.

Elihu asks probing questions of Job to show that, really, you can’t understand what is truly going on here (Do you know…do you know…can you, like Him…teach us…). Elihu still holds to this idea that Job has sinned, but at least he frames the idea better that the other counsellors on hand. At the core, Elihu seems to be saying, look Job, you cannot understand all of these wonderful workings of God, so you have no chance of understanding the mystery of why you are suffering so. 

Elihu is right, isn’t he? We cannot know how the Lord lays out the skies as a master artist paints a picture, we cannot understand the wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge, we cannot spread out skies, we cannot know ever truly know what to say to Him who sits on the throne, we just don’t know.

Where does this leave us? What does this leave us with?

It leaves us with trust, and with faith. There are things we will never see or understand this side of eternity (Isaiah 55.8-11), but, as Corrie Ten Boom said, 

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.

So, learn all you can about our known God, and trust the unknown to Him!

2 Timothy 3.10-11 – In // Over

Published on by James TravisLeave a comment

Today Paul draws a stark contrast between those with the spirit of the last days and his intended recipitient Timothy, and by application you and me.

10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.

Pau begins with you, however…Maybe your Bible has the words ‘But you’, drawing an even clearer contrast, but even if they don’t the point is clear – what has gone is not for the believer, what follows is.

As a man so totally sold out to the cause of Jesus and building His kingdom, of making Jesus known to all he could, and of full-life devotion, Paul could say with a clear conscience that it was good for Timothy to have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings…He could say this because Jesus was at the center of them all. Paul’s teaching was Christ-centered, his conduct was Christ honoring, his aim in life was to preach Christ crucified, his faith was unshakingly in Jesus.

Do you have a leader like that in your life? Is there someone who you can follow (Hebrews 13.7) with clear conscience because you know they are 100% sold out to Jesus and His cause and His kingdom?

No matter what Paul has been through and was going through at the time of writing, he knew that the Lord rescued him from all. This is an interesting thing to say whilst in prison awaiting execution, isn’t it. See, Paul knew the difference between being rescued and given victory over his circumstances or in his circumstances.

The Lord never guarantees to rescue and deliver us from every situation that trials us. He does, however, promise to rescue us in spite of them, to rescue us despite what is going on around us unto eternal life with Him. Paul had the proper perspective here, and believed in a God that can work miracles to deliver His people, but never guarantees it. Paul knew that even though he was in prison, even though he was awaiting execution, that the Lord would never leave nor forsake him, would always be an ever present help in times of need, and even if earthly circumstances seem to have defeated him, that his Lord and Saviour had overcome the world and had something far greater waiting on the other side. 

Is that something you know?

Do you know that regardless of what is going on around you, this doesn’t change the fact that you are known by God, loved by God, purchased by the blood of His Son, and that He so desperately desires to enter into a relationship with Him?

If your earthly circumstances are telling you otherwise, I would encourage you to listen to this message, and to rest in the truth that you are known, you are loved, and that no matter what is going on around you, this will never change. 

Faith – Hebrews 11.1

Published on by James TravisLeave a comment

Yesterday at Saar Fellowship we had an all-age family service talking about faith. 

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, 

the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11.1

We talked about what faith is not, and then said that faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing.

Everyone put trust into action when they sat on the chairs provided; their physical senses told them that the chair was worth trusting, and our faith is what allows us to trust things of a Spiritual nature.

So far in Hebrews then, we have been encouraged to put our faith into the Word of God, and the work that Jesus did and does for us.

As Hebrews 11 progresses, we will see a great list of people who put their faith into action. The point for the Hebrews, and for us, is that because these regular people were able to put their faith into action, so can you.

Faith is so important, without it we cannot ever please God (11.6), and it is so important that everything rests on it.

Dr. John Lennox said this,

Faith is not a leap into the dark, but a step into the light.

Where do we step then, by faith?

Into the light, into the light of the world.

Where do we put our faith, our hope, our trust?

In God and in His Word, which all points to One person…

We have faith in the faithfulness of Jesus.

We have faith in how good Jesus is.

We have faith in how much faith Jesus has, how faithful He is, how full of faith He is, don’t we?