Trust in God
Notes
Transcript
Trust in God
Trust in God
Introduction
Last week we talked about who is Jesus as King. We found that he declared himself the king of truth. This is what we can count on with Jesus. Jesus has declared the truth to us and we can count on it to lead us to salvation and eternity. While the world tells many lies to deceive us and the enemy does the same, we can rely on God to declare the truth to us. God is the one we can count on to cut through all the lies and deceptions and share the truth.
We are entering this season of Advent where we remember Jesus entering this world. We remember a promise made from long ago that was fulfilled by the birth of the King Jesus. It is easy to become misled this season and miss the point but this is where we lean into God and put our truth in God as the Psalmist says.
Verse 1
1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
I find my life and soul can be entrusted to God. Is there anyone else you can trust? Often times this may be our career or friends or family but be careful with this temptation. God alone is trustworthy and we are all people who can make mistakes or make bad judgment calls. God is wise and knows the truth in all situations and circumstances So each day, lift your life up to God and trust God will take care of you.
Verse 2-3
2 O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
3 Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
We trust God in all seasons of life. We trust God with all parts of our lives. This means we trust God to get us through the difficulties or valleys of life when people, circumstances, or both beat us down. This psalmist here does something interesting. He starts out by declaring his trust in God and then expanding that this trust also includes his lot in life and those he seek ill will against him. When we are in those places where people are against us, then lean more into God to get you through it and declare in your prayers that you trust God to take care of this.
The psalmist asks God not to let him be put to shame or anyone else that waits for the Lord to act in a situation. How challenging is that to wait on God to act? In some ways, we don’t like the situation and we need God to fix it now. Yet the psalmist says it a little differently in that don’t let God’s name but blemished by those who are patient and wait on the LORD. It is a two way street, trust that is. We want to trust God and we also need that assurance that God is acting or will act soon in that situation.
Think of the father who had asked the disciples to heal his son who was possessed by an evil spirit. Jesus asked them how long they would persist in their unbelief. The father cried out I do believe but help me in my unbelief.
In some ways I think we are the same. We trust God and we also want to continue trusting God and it is that assurance that helps us to continue to trust God when we not only see times in the past God has stepped into our lives but also current times that reinforces that trust.
Verse 4-5
4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.
God is not just the God who rescues us from the bad in this world but God’s intervention in our lives goes much further beyond this. God is not just fixing your current situation but opening your eyes to the truth. God feeds that desire and hunger inside us to know the truth. Only God can be trusted with the truth and teaching us. We desire to know God and to learn more about the truth God has to offer us. This truth teaches us the right way to live our lives. This truth teaches us who we are to God. This truth teaches us about salvation, eternity, and freedom from sin.
I wait upon the LORD to teach me these truths. I trust God not just in teaching but helping me to live out these truths. I don’t need any other teachings that this world offers. I only desire God’s truths and God’s teachings to get me on the right path.
Verse 6-7
6 Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!
Just like the psalmist, I know I am not perfect but work towards that perfection God teaches me to become. I also like the psalmists count on God’s mercy and steadfast love that have always been there in all seasons of my life. God knows me in my best of days and worst of days and I trust in God’s mercy and love to be steadfast in all the days of my life.
Mercy is what God extends to us. Mercy is what spares us from what we deserve. God is merciful and God is love. These two qualities of God are what we rely on and can trust to remain always true about God. It is easy to sometimes gloss over the fact that God demands perfection from us because we daily rely on God’s mercy and love. Yet this is not a free pass to simply keep living in our old sinful ways. It is a grace card that we need to be grateful for and do something about.
Verse 8-10
8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
We can trust God because of who God is. God is good and upright as the psalmist says here. God will teach us to live humbly and conduct our lives in the right way. We must be humble and not boastful. We must not just say we are humble but truly be humble and accept God’s ways. It is in our humility that God leads us on the right path. Otherwise, we become the victim of our own making. We dig our own pit to fall in. We dig our own graves so to speak. Yet, changing our ways and humbling accepting God’s truth and God’s teachings, our lives are transformed and our lives are taken care of in this world and in eternity.
There is a promise in verse 10. God will not lead you astray and will not mislead you like so many others in this world will do. God truly loves you and is faithful in taking care of you in all seasons and all circumstances. We simply need to humbly accept the ways the Lord teaches us to live and be that person God made us and tells us we can be.