The Theology of Resting in God

August 12th, 2013 by JDVaughn Leave a reply »

Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? —Matthew 8:26

 

When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even know God. We come to our wits’ end, showing that we don’t have even the slightest amount of confidence in Him or in His sovereign control of the world. To us He seems to be asleep, and we can see nothing but giant, breaking waves on the sea ahead of us.

“. . . O you of little faith!” What a stinging pain must have shot through the disciples as they surely thought to themselves, “We missed the mark again!” And what a sharp pain will go through us when we suddenly realize that we could have produced complete and utter joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, in spite of what we were facing.

There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.

We have been talking quite a lot about sanctification, but what will be the result in our lives? It will be expressed in our lives as a peaceful resting in God, which means a total oneness with Him. And this oneness will make us not only blameless in His sight, but also a profound joy to Him.

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August 12, 2013

Thank you Lord, for the reminder; for the encouragement to trust You this day, in all that I encounter. Often I get caught up in my own ideas about helping myself. “Oh God does not want or need to be bothered about this little thing, I can handle this one. Or worse, I don’t even begin to think about You in this area of my life, because I am certain You would not want to be associated with that part of my life. Thank You for reminding me that You want to be in control of every area of my life, not to control me, but to  give me an abundant and happy life.

And God says…”Trust in Me with your entire life; the big things, the little things, and the in between things, everything from getting up in the morning to going to bed at night. Trust in Me, and rest in the knowledge that if I would not withhold my very own Son from you, I would not withhold any good thing from you. You may think a person, place or opportunity is good for you, but how often have you been wrong? How many times have you hurt yourself and those you love with your own notions of what is and is not good for you?”

“How often has it turned out the way you expected? You keep searching for your own treasure of happiness and love. And I have already secured it for you.  Trust in Me with all your heart, and do not rely on your own devices, and I will make your paths straight. Delight yourself in the Lord and I will give you the desires of your heart. Trust in Me and experience My river of love and happiness running through your heart.”

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