Living By Trust

When the Lord was calling me into the ministry, it was a very troublesome time for me. I was happy with my career, my family life, my friends, my church, and life in general. I was not looking for a change and did not want to make any changes. When the Lord started calling me to study at the seminary, it meant giving up my existing life... and I was rebellious towards the Lord. I was not "mad" at him, but it was a nauseating feeling that cut very deep. Not only did it involve me, but also my wife and my three children. To me, it felt like I was standing at a cliff, holding hands with my family and staring down at the bottom, but we could not see the bottom because the view was obscured by clouds. It seemed as though there was a voice telling us to jump, yet we could not see what was under the clouds. We only hoped that it would be water and not rocks. We were jumping into the unknown and it was scarey. The one thing we knew is that we trusted God. If He was wanting me to enter the ministry, we must follow His will. Trust.... It’s such a small word to effect people so greatly. Trust is defined as a firm belief or confidence in the honesty, integrity, reliability, justice, etc. of another person or thing; faith; reliance. Such a small word with such a big meaning. The Bible uses the word "trust" throughout Scripture:

On God my salvation and my glory rest;

The Rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

Trust in Him at all times, O people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us. (Psa 62:7-8)

You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;

He is their help and their shield. (Psa 115:11)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight. (Prov 3:5-6)

Yet, where do we stand in our Trust in the Lord? Sure I followed Jesus tugging for me to enter the seminary, but what about all the other times I ignored Jesus or flat out went against Jesus? How many times have you contradicted Jesus? How many times could we be fired for "insubordination" when it comes to God? When the Lord asks us to jump, how often do we question it, hesitate, contemplate it, or ignore it!

When we sin, we are guilty of insubordination. When we sin, we are demonstrating a lack of trust. We sin because we still have the old Adam in us. Even though we are Christians, we turn our backs on God daily.

Trust is essential also in marriage. A marriage without trust is a marriage that is in serious trouble. It is difficult to restore broken trust. Trust comes to us in different forms. Some forms of trust must be earned. Other forms of trust are freely given. Which ever form of trust,... TRUST... once broken is slow to repair.

Trust is not only essential in marriage, but also in the family. Children, when you go against your parent’s will, you break the 4^th Commandment of God: "Honor your Mother and Father". When you go against your parents will, you also chip away at trust. When trust is broken, kids... especially teenagers, want trust to be immediately restored. Teenagers question their parents love when the parents won’t trust them, when they just broke their trust yesterday, or a week before. Trust once broken is slow to repair, but IT CAN BE REPAIRED!

Trust can also be broken between kids and their parents through the actions of the parent. When a parent acts contrary to God’s will, they not only affect their relationship with God, but also with their spouse and children. When children see a parent breaking a promise, telling lies, name calling, getting drunk, having affairs, or hitting the other... trust is diminished. Is this behavior acceptable to God? Will this behavior bring honor and glory to Christ? Will this behavior take place in heaven? No, this behavior is not acceptable to God! He has no place for this behavior in heaven. But, why do we do it anyway? Because while we are saved by the blood of Christ, we are both "saint" and "sinner". Even though we are a "saint" does not make "sin" acceptable. Sin is going against God’s will and we are all sinners. None of us deserve to go to heaven. You are not worthy of heaven and neither am I. You are a sinner and you deserve to go to hell. Hell is a very real place. No one is worthy,... no... not one person in here.

The Gospel Text for today teaches exclusively of the Christian faith, and awakens that faith in us; just as John, throughout his whole Gospel, simply instructs us how to trust in Christ the Lord. It is ironic that even though we break our trust with Jesus on a daily basis, Jesus still comes to us through his Word. We have a God that loves us. We have a God who comes to us! In today’s Scripture reading: Jesus states:

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day."

This passage makes it clear that we cannot seek the Lord ourselves, but it is God the Father who draws you to him. God takes the first step by bringing His Word to you through Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the preaching of the Word, and the Holy Scriptures. God comes to you. God’s Word offers you divine grace and enlightens your heart. God’s Word brings you faith. God’s Word brings you Salvation. God’s Word brings you eternal life. IT IS HIS PROMISE! While we continually fail in our promises, GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES. He promises that if you are drawn to God by Christ, you will certainly be "raised up at the last day."

When you are drowning in the sea of sin, God throws a life preserver. God saves you from drowning and gives you life. It’s not you calling out for help, but God takes the first step by calling out to you! It is only after you have been drawn to Christ that you can call out to Him. He chose you! He has called you out specifically and has drawn you to Him. Praise the Lord. God took the first step, and we take the second step, that of trusting Him through the faith he gave us. A drowning person does not turn down a life-ring, or wonder whether it will float or sink. A drowning person will grasp that life-ring for everything it is worth and will cling to it! As a former lifeguard, I know that a drowning person will grab on to a lifeguard with great fear, but with an unquestionable trust... that they are saved. A drowning person on his last breath will not deny the lifeguard. God is our lifeguard. He rescued us from death and the devil. God is our Helper, our Comforter, our Savior, and our rescuer.

While we continually break, crack, and chip away at trust, He promises that he will raise up those who believe at the last day. IT’S A PROMISE! God’s Word is not a lie, but the TRUTH. We live our life by trust. We live our life by trusting in God, not by our own action, but because He has drawn us to him. We live our life by trusting in God’s Word... which states in the last part of the Gospel reading: “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the Bread of life. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” We are living by TRUST! OUR TRUST IS IN THE FAITH THAT HE HAS GIVEN US!
AMEN