Trusting God in the Hard Times

First - my apologies for a really long post.  These thoughts have been on my mind a lot recently and I've found that sharing them with others has often been fruitful in both my own life and theirs.  I capture them here in the hope that God can use them in yours as well.

Trusting God in the Hard Times

Given recent events in our lives, I thought I would capture a few things that God has been teaching me over these past few years.   In part, it’s because the writing process is helpful to me in reminding myself of these important truths, and it’s also in response to a number of folks who have asked or commented to the effect of wondering how we get through the dark times.

First let me say that this writing in NO WAY should communicate that I’ve got it figured out, that this is easy, or that I don’t fail miserably at this on a frequent basis.  Trials are hard; sometimes they seem impossibly hard.   But having discovered these simple truths from Scripture has been enormously helpful to us when times are at their darkest.  I’d like to share 3 of these truths that seem to cover the vast bulk of what I need to hear most when I fail to trust God.

UNDERSTANDING FEAR:

  The first truth is to recognize that Fear is a sin.  This was a shock to me when I discovered it.  I had always reckoned that fear was just a basic human emotion.  And by “fear” here, I mean anxiety about the future – worry – not the feeling you have when you suddenly notice the Mack truck about to flatten you if you don’t do something quick … that’s a good thing.   But fear of the future, or anxiety, is in fact sin.   Revelation lists “the fearful” (that group of people who characteristically exhibit fear / anxiety) in the same list as a number of other sins that we would immediately characterize as being among the worst sins humans could commit against God.

 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. -- Revelation 21:8

Fear can be characterized as the opposite of Faith. He who fears the future does not trust that God is both Master of it, and has each of our best interests at heart.  Fear is born of Satan and he tempts and tests us with it regularly.  1 John 4:18 goes on to explain that “perfect love casts out all fear” and “He that feareth is not made perfect in love”.  It is no coincidence so many times when an angel appears to a human in Scripture, his first words are “Fear not!”  The Holy Spirit gives us the remedy to fear / anxiety in Philippians:

 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” -- Phil 4:6-7

Recognizing that fear is a sin was a huge help to me in learning to overcome it.  I’m not there yet, but realizing that it’s NOT unavoidable and is in fact offensive to God is an important first step.

ON QUESTIONING GOD:

By “questioning” here, I do not mean asking God questions in general – seeking knowledge.  Rather, I mean questioning His motives, His trustworthiness, His character, etc. … what we so naturally find ourselves doing when He allows trials to come into our lives and we can’t see a “good” reason for them.  

I don’t know whether it is a natural response or a conditioned response to question the motives of others.  I suspect the latter as born of experience.  The more we travel in life, the more we are likely to be exposed to, if not “burned” by, the ill motives and self-centeredness of other human beings.  We naturally grow wary and sometimes distrustful of others and often quickly jump to distrust others’ character & motives when they cause pain in our lives – sometimes rightly, sometimes not.

While most Christians recognize that it is wrong to question the motives and character of God – simply because we’re told we shouldn’t and that God is always trustworthy, I find that few of my theology students really understand why it is actually IMPOSSIBLE for us to do so.

We must first recognize that “questioning God” is really a quasi-polite way of saying we don’t trust Him completely.  We believe it’s at least possible that He might do something unloving, unjust, or unfaithful in our lives or the lives of others and we’re wondering whether some particular event might be one of those times.   But there are several fallacies in this thinking:

First, we have forgotten His omniscience.  In order for we humans to believe that we can evaluate God’s actions in any way, we would first have to know everything He does; all the inputs, all the ramifications, all the potential outcomes, and all the available alternatives to the decision He has made.  Clearly, we do not.  He does.

Second, we have forgotten His “eternality” an attribute of God’s nature that means He exists outside the confines of time itself.  God created time and space, but He is subject to neither.  He has seen all things – past, present, and future to our current location in time.  He knows the outcome of all actions – not because He’s really good at predicting the future, but because He is already there!  This is related to His omnipresence (He exists everywhere at once).  He is present at all points in the universe (space), but also all points in time!  This is pretty difficult to get our limited heads around, but that’s precisely the point here.  We are in no position to render judgment against God’s actions until we are as knowledgeable, powerful, and eternal as He is.

Third, we mistakenly think that the concepts of right & wrong, or good & evil exist apart from God.  We like to imagine that “right” and “wrong” exist independently in the universe as a self-existent standard of morality, and that we can hold God’s actions up against this standard and decide for ourselves whether His actions “measure up” against this standard.  But in truth, no such independent standard exists.  Where would it have come from?  Who would have created it?  No.  Rather, God Himself IS THE STANDARD.  What God does is, by definition, right and good and holy and just and loving and perfectly in keeping with all His moral attributes.  To attempt to hold God up against any standard can only result in judging the value of the standard itself, not God.  

So we must recognize that God is God and we are not.  He is the Potter and we are nothing more than the clay.  Not only does He have every right to do as He wills with us, but in fact, God CANNOT do anything with us that is not good and loving and holy and just and in keeping with all His attributes.  If God does it, then it is, by definition, GOOD.  If it doesn’t seem to match up to our own perceived standard, then clearly the standard we're using is the problem – not God.  This doesn’t make it any easier to understand why God does some of the things He does, it only means that to question His motives is foolishness and only points to our own ignorance and arrogance.

GAINING AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE:

This is actually a pretty big topic, but I’ll try to summarize it here.  One of the misconceptions that most Christians are under is the idea that we will be spending the rest of forever in Heaven singing Amazing Grace and playing harps around the golden gates.  But this is not the Biblical picture of the future.  The destiny of Man has always been to fill the Earth. This is the purpose for which the Earth and ultimately the Universe was created.  This Creation has been damaged by sin and will be burned up and “resurrected” as a “New Heavens” and “New Earth” after the Millennium.  This new Heaven and Earth is our ultimate destiny and the fulfillment of God’s plan of grace toward us who believe … it is the completion of our “Great Hope”.  And like the original Garden of Eden, we will have work to do!  (Sorry if that's a disappointment. :)  We are told that we will reign with Christ as kings and priests, that we will be administrators in this new Earth, and be rewarded with rank and privilege in accordance with how we have trusted Christ and what trials we have endured and overcome.  These positions of leadership will require character and integrity – people of honor, and faith, and all the Fruits of the Spirit.  In order for us to adequately fill these positions, it is imperative that we allow God to shape our character NOW into what He has designed us to be such that we can fill those job descriptions with honor for our King.

This view of our final destination helps us better understand the purpose of this life then.  We too often see this world and this life as the whole shebang.  And the idea of spending this life mired down in pain, suffering, trials, and pretty much anything other than lots of fun, health, and leisure time just seems horribly sad to us.  We spend our energy, money, and time trying to make things fun, entertaining, and enjoyable for ourselves and our loved ones in this life.  But in fact, that is not the purpose of this life.  This is Boot Camp … Basic Training … a Basic CHARACTER Shaping Class designed to prepare us for the next several trillion years to come in the service of Christ.  And though I believe that God always gives us the opportunity to learn the lessons He has for us the “easy way” – the fact is, we rarely do.  The most lasting lessons are the ones that cost us the most and are test us to our core.  Having all those rough edges shaved and shaped hurts.  We love our flesh, and having it denied, torn away, or pummeled into submission is not a pleasant experience.  But the more we submit to God’s shaping and refining in this life, the more glorifying we will be to Him both in this life and in the ages to come.  

We MUST learn to see this life in proper perspective … in the light of eternity and all that is to come after this.  We must recognize our natural short-sightedness and keep the eternal before us.  When our Father allows trials to come into our lives, there is always something to be learned, an opportunity to grow.  He is after something new and good and of eternal significance in our character and experience.  The sooner we get that, and let Him have His way, the sooner we’ll be done with that lesson.  But that doesn’t mean the next one will be easier – probably the opposite.  Yet there is joy in the journey. When we allow Him to shape and grow our faith and trust in Him, we find peace and joy and love even in the “Valley of the Shadow of Death”.  And that kind of strength will go with us into eternity.  With those lessons, we will bring glory to our Master, and honor to our brothers and sisters in Christ.  This is not easy.  It’s hard.  It’s painful.  It’s gut wrenching at times.  But in it is goodness, and growth and lasting strength, endurance, and character.

A hundred, or a thousand, or a billion years from now, we will look back upon these events and see only their eternal significance, not the momentary pain we endured to obtain them.  Undoubtedly, we will all wish we’d let God bring us farther and been less complaining and petulant along the way.

I have found this viewpoint to be the most beneficial of anything else in theology for understanding and enduring the tests that the Lord allows to come my way.  It doesn’t mean I’m always appreciative or even remember the points I’m talking about here.  I’ve certainly shed my share of tears and cried out in anger toward God.  But like any loving Father, He forgives me, loves me, and gently encourages me forward.  And in the end, these principles eventually come back to mind and help me process.  I hope they help you too.

Grace and Peace;

- Tim -