Do you trust?

All Scripture is God-breathed. I was reading through 1 Chronicles recently. Though I like genealogy, it can be quite laborious to get through the genealogies in that book. However, in the midst of the reading, God's Word hit me with a thought for life. The Scripture says in 1 Chronicles 5:18-20 (NASB) the following:

The sons of Reuben and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, consisting of valiant men, men who bore shield and sword and shot with bow and were skillful in battle, were 44,760, who went to war. They made war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hand; for they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him.

God keeps His promises and He is trustworthy, but I want to ask you a question: Would the sons of Reuben and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh trust God if He had not answered their prayers? Do you still trust God even if the prayers you pray are not answered, or at least not answered in the way you prefer? Sometimes the "no answer" is the answer.

I've been guilty. I've talked about how God has shown His kindness, citing circumstances when they are good. That is true, but there's more to it than that. It is also true that God shows His kindness even when seasons are unkind, not just when they are kind. God is kind and trustworthy even when circumstances are difficult.

In Genesis 39:20-21 (NASB), the Scripture says the following:

So Joseph's master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king's prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.

Joseph went to jail! "But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness...." Even when Joseph was unjustly confined (and due to being falsely accused by Potiphar's wife), God was showing His kindness.

The band MercyMe has a song called Even If. The lyrics in that song capture this sentiment:

I know You're able
And I know You can
Save through the fire
With Your mighty hand

But even if You don't
My hope is You alone

Do you trust Him? Do you trust God even when you are in the fire? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego literally trusted Him in the fire.

How about you? Are you trusting God or circumstances?

Here's the truth:

• God blessed Joseph in spite of the pit and later false accusation and imprisonment.
• God opened Jonah's eyes in the whale.
• God saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fire and changed hearts as a result.
• Jesus taught Peter a lesson in faith as Peter began to sink in the waves of the sea upon which Jesus walked.

Are you looking at the pit or the whale or the fire or the waves? Or are you trusting God?

God used the pit, the whale, the fire and the sea, but He is Whom you are to trust. After all, God opened up eternity though the suffering of Jesus who died and rose again, completing the work. Hope is in Him and the work He completed on your behalf.

Do you believe? Are looking at your circumstances or are you trusting Him? Believe and have hope! He is trustworthy.... even in the hard parts of life.

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