(Further reflection on “Trust Issues” — Sunday 1-Nov-2020)
Trust involves risk. Although the word of the Lord, through Elisa the prophet, came to the Israelite king and his captain (whose city was under famine because it was besieged by the Syrian king), “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria” (2 Kings 7:1–2), the captain doubted God’s word, saying, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?”
Reflecting on God’s word to the king and captain’s word to the prophet (God’s spokesman), we saw that God wanted to show his mercy and deliverance to His people. So here we ask, What harm does it bring to believe in that good news? No harm, right? But why can’t he just simply believe? Well, perhaps he had been believing in himself for too long. Or they might have been trusting in their collective (military/economical/talented) strengths for years. Or maybe he was afraid of losing face (as a leader) in front of his people? We can’t be sure about his inner thoughts/feelings/motives, but what we can know something in the captain’s direct speech. He did not trust God’s ability to deliver His people due to the situation which was horribly unthinkable, i.e. people were eating donkey’s head, dove’s dung, and their own children (cf. 2 Kings 6:24–31). The captain’s doubt was beyond repair. He ‘blurted’ them out that even if the Lord opens windows in heaven (to pour out food/provision), it won’t be enough!
Our [terrible] present situation or past [painful] experiences tend to doubt even God’s good news and His abundant provision. We are prone to have the “captain-like” responses to God’s word that spoke to us through many outlets, i.e. our daily Bible reading (if/when we read), the prompting or reminding or a still-small-voice of the Holy Spirit, weekday small groups, weekly Sunday worship, messages, and fellowship. The current pandemic is bad enough. Many lose their job or had a pay cut or used all personal reserves/savings and are only able to survive for a few months or having anxieties of all kind due to the uncertainty and unpredictable nature of the industry or job market and the near future outlook. But nothing can be compared with the situation in the story above.
The irony in the story was when the four lepers who had nothing to lose ventured into the Syrian camp and found abundant provision. They enjoyed and acquired it for themselves, but their conscience prompted them of their wrong action, that is, knowing the good news but not telling it to others (cf. 2 Kings 7:3–9). So they went and told the good news to the Israelite king, captain, and people in the city. Obviously the king had his rationales and did not trust the good news that the four lepers brought (cf. 2 Kings 7:12–14), but he still used his remaining resources, the five horses (apparently they hadn’t eaten them yet) and sent out two horsemen to “go and see.” Think about this, if you were the two horsemen, it meant a great risk (a death sentence) in facing the powerful Syrian army. What if, the good news of the four lepers were wrong. Now we pause here as someone may cry out, “It’s not fair, the captain had trust issues, so did the king. But only the captain was punished according the word of the Lord that “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it (2 Kings 7:19).” Looking carefully how the captain’s words and the king’s words were different. The former did not trust God’s ability and capacity (even if He does act, it won’t be enough). The latter heard the good news from the unlikely source, assessed the situation, took risk in sending his (probably best) men out. The king somewhat trusted the lepers’ word but he needed to test it. So he took the risk and then confirmed the good news. So not only he him himself experienced God’s provision but also his people in the city did as well. We noticed that the king did not question God’s word through prophet Elisha. He waited, ventured, confirmed, and experienced it.
Trust needs to be earned. Even God has been earning our trust through ages by revealing His will, plan, good news, and provision through His word and His Son — Jesus Christ. He has been showing us that He is the beginning and the end, the Eternal one, whom we can trust absolutely and constantly. Yet our sinful humanity is having trust issues with Him due to our past/present painful/hurtful/terrible situations/experiences.
Now even trusting the good news of Jesus Christ needs to be earned through hearing God’s words and applying them into our life. People can quickly have a religion, even Christianity. They can fulfill all the religious duties or rituals. But if the gospel had never been able to earn their trust (because they don’t fully trust Jesus) or take hold of their heart/mind, they will remain victims of having trust issues (due to their past/present terrible/painful circumstances). The simplest sign is that they always blame someone (and even God occasionally) for doing something that is unfavorable or uncomfortable to their life (according to their own eyes/views). Thus, they remain unchanged even by God’s good news that Jesus Christ has made available to them. They can’t forgive others as they won’t accept God’s forgiveness. Or if they did, they might even doubt “Can this thing be?” Or they keep the good news to themselves and don’t want to tell it to others. They may have Christianity as a religion but do not have Christ as Lord, Savior, and the most trusted friend, whom they can fully open up in conversations (reading His Word, hearing His voice, and talking/praying to Him). They never wanted to take a risk to share with other trusted members of the Body of Christ, the local church. They might fear that if they do share, other people’s responses or even God’s word could make them uncomfortable due to its nature of teaching, correcting, rebuking, and training in righteousness (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16–17). Without trusting the Lord and His word, fear seems to be the only possibility.
Now what? What might be practically helpful for us when we are in bad times is to ask ourselves, what harm does it bring if we trust God’s word?” The same question we also need to ask even in good times, because we tend to trust ourselves when things are going well. We must always remember to trust in the Lord with all our heart and do not lean on our own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight our paths. Be not wise in our own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to our flesh and refreshment to our bones (cf. Proverbs 3:5–8).
It is true that trust involves risk and it needs to be earned. The questions remain, What risk are you taking in trusting the Lord and His word? Has the Lord Jesus not earned enough of your trust?
Your answers and actions will determine the depth of your trust in the Lord, the abundance of His provision for your life, your family, others, and the life-changing experiences you are going to have even in the most unthinkable scenarios.
Amen.
___
Pastor Lap
Comments