I am wondering, when is the time in a Christian’s life that they should not trust, when is it that the common sense that we have been blessed with should be listened to instead of taking that step of faith. Every follower of Christ has something in them that causes doubt in their lives, each one of us has trouble occasionally with trusting in the Lord, sometimes it is in a repeated area of our lives, at others it is when the unexpected arrives.
The result after these incidences contain only two possibilities though, we will forever trust in that area, or we will not. Many times our Lord needs to either bring or allow something to come into our lives to let us know how much we trust Him in that particular area, He of course already knows what our action is going to be in regard to the circumstance, the occurrence is brought upon us for our benefit only, and its entire intended purpose is meant for us to grow in that area. The strength of our faith is the determining factor in these times, and it is that faith that is meant to increase by this test, trial, or trouble. How much we trust Him is shown to us, and whether or not that trust, that faith, will either increase or falter is strictly for our knowledge, nothing is hidden from God. (Heb. 4:13)
If He did not want you to grow, He would not send those times upon us, but therein lies the topic of this letter to you, to what depth of trials are you at right now, and where is it that you want to be. How shall we compare these tests, as we will call them, shall we relate one to another, what is more difficult, being stranded on the side of the road, knowing you will be late for a very important meeting, or finding out your loving spouse is addicted to pornography, having to watch your mother die slowly of Alzheimer’s, or realizing another missed opportunity to witness for Christ because you were ashamed of speaking about Him. The tests, at least I believe, are always sent upon us at exactly the right time, at exactly the moment that they are needed to show us where we are in our relationship with the Lord, and I think I can speak assuredly of this, until you pass the test, as it were, until you understand exactly where your trust is in Christ in this particular area of your spiritual walk, you will not be progressing any further in trust in that area.
The Lord knows exactly what our breaking point is, and then He takes us further, He loves us too much to leave us where we are, but He never has and never will force trust on any of us, it is left entirely up to us to decide if we will trust Him or if we will not. Herein is the reason why there are so many weaker brothers and sisters in Christ, and there seems to be so few that are mature in their faith. Those who remain weaker fail in the tests constantly, they must be repeated over and over during their lifetimes, their faith is indeed genuine, but remains weak, for they can say, “Thy will be done” only with their lips, but not with their hearts, not in trust. Simply take away some of the things in life they have become accustomed to, whether they are materialistic, or emotion based, and their trust falls by the wayside. If the removed item is never returned, they will either begin to trust Him in what they have left, or they will never trust again.
This does not of course mean that they have lost their salvation, that is not possible, but it does mean that spot on the path that they are on at that moment is possibly the furthest they will travel on the path. They have shown no increase, and so they cannot be trusted, as it were, with greater gifts, all of the treasures they have laid up in heaven are complete, and they may have many years of life here on earth yet before they arrive home. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) This is one test that many I am sorry to say will never be prepared spiritually, or mentally for, to die for Christ. I do not just mean either doing or not doing certain things in our lives so that God will be glorified, I mean the extinguishing of your life for Him, to literally die.
This of course would be the final test, and I could be wrong, but I doubt very much that anyone who has trouble speaking to people about Christ will need to face this test, it is reserved for those who do not fear the reproaches of others, who are not concerned with what people think about them, those who are ready at any moment to forsake all for Him, those who are willing to stand, no matter the consequences. For you see my friends, for this individual it is not a test, it is a joy, to give the greatest sacrifice for the Lord that they could possibly give, their very life, is the ultimate privilege, honor and blessing. “And they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev. 12:11) So why would not every single believer want to give this greatest sacrifice?
Fear, there is no other answer, they do not trust Him fully, and so they fear. They have not shown a trust in Him in the small things, and so they will not, cannot be given the opportunity for greater blessings in these other areas. When you really think about it, the fear is irrational, they have trusted to Christ the security of their eternal soul, the promises of heaven, and to be spared from the wrath of God, but their faith falters if He decides to take their house away, or their child or spouse, it makes sense only in the terminology of fear, the fear of either loss or some burden put upon them by the Lord, that test that was placed before them so that they could clearly see exactly how much trust, how much faith they possess at this very moment. How many times do we read “Your faith has healed you,” but what does it say in the Scriptures why our Lord could perform so few miracles in His hometown? “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Matt. 13:58)
We will never be able to do anything of any true value for the kingdom of God and for the glory of Christ until we have a full faith, and we will never have that faith until we lose the fear, it is that simple. “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” (Matt. 19:26) “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” (Matt. 8:26) There you have it, both sides of the coin, faith and trust, or fear and doubt, and that choice is one hundred percent yours, He only offers the opportunities for our faith to grow, He never forces it upon anyone. We love to quote Romans 8:28 “All things happen for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose.” But when that happens we don’t seem to be able to see the good in them, how much smaller than the mustard seed do you suppose some people’s faith is?
The problem is that too many will only continue in what faith they have as long as things in their life stay the same, a roof over their head, an emotional state that remains balanced, the health, wealth and longevity of life, uninterrupted by negative external turmoil. Troubles come, faith falters, and the inevitable “Why did God allow…” fill in the blank statements are repeated again. When you do not care one bit what people think about you, when you do not care where you lay your head that night, or what there will be for food tomorrow, when your only concern is where you can spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ today, then you will be able to say, “To live is Christ, to die is gain,” (Phil. 1:21) and mean it. When all that matters is Christ, nothing else matters, faith is no longer hindered by emotions or circumstances, it becomes a fact.
