In God We Trust

Introduction

Good morning. If you will, please open your Bibles with me to Psalm chapter 118, the 118th Psalm. As you’re turning there, consider that not only does God unite us all, but while we’re living here in this life, while we are away from God in terms of in the flesh, we are not in the immediate heavenly presence of our God. There are a lot of things that unite us. We enjoy things that are funny. We enjoy various pleasures and passions of life. We enjoy family. We enjoy friends. We enjoy spending time with those whom we love. Unfortunately, not only do good things unite us, but tough times do as well. It may be that this morning your heart aches because of a loved one who is suffering or has recently suffered.

All of us in our lives at one time or another either have or will face a tough moment. A moment when we have to look at ourselves and decide, am I truly going to stick with God no matter what? Or is this just beyond me? Last night I got a call that a former college uh friend of mine, his mother who’s in his l was in her late 40s, passed away. After having what seemed to be a successful open heart surgery, uh she later was lost. And now the the my friend, this woman and her family have her presence no more. Life is fleeting. Death will come to us all in the sense of the cessation of this life. The question is not, will it come, but will we be ready?

The question is not is hard will hard times find us, but will we be prepared? And the truth is there really is only one way to make it through this life. When disease hits, when financial struggles happen, when family turns on each other, there’s only one common bond that will make us get through to the end. And it’s trusting in God. If we don’t have trust in God, if we don’t truly live out the belief that in God we trust, we will not make it. We will not be with God forever. In the 118th Psalm there, the reassuring words beginning in verse 1. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Let Israel say, His steadfast love endures forever.

Let the house of Aaron say, His steadfast love endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord say, His steadfast love endures forever. Out of my distress I called on the Lord. The Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side.

What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper. I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than then trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. All nations surrounded me in the name of the Lord I cut them off. They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side. In the name of the Lord I cut them off. They surrounded me like bees, they went out like a fire among thorns. In the name of the Lord I cut them off. I was pushed hard so that I was following. But the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.

This morning I want to look at several different Old Testament Bible stories where we see man faced with a moment of a decision. This moment in this decision that would be made would be do I rely on God no matter what, despite the circumstance that envelops me. Or will I turn? Will I trust in someone else? Will I place my trust, my heart, away from God rather than in the one source of salvation, the one source of strength, our God, our fortress, whose steadfast love is forever. We’re going to look at three examples this morning where the individuals did trust in God, when their faith was not only put in God, but it was rewarded for that placement. But make no mistake, the Bible was also clear of examples where men did exactly what this psalm suggests not to do.

1. Trust in God When Life Seems Stacked Against Me

And verse 8 it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to take refuge in man. And yet Israel tried that time and again, trusting in Egypt, trusting in Assyria to help them. And they were not rewarded. They trusted in riches. They trusted in the leaders of foreign countries, and yet verse 9 said it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. Let us not make the mistakes of those who in Bible history have placed their trust somewhere other than God. Rather be like these devout examples of faith that we’re going to study this morning. I want to highlight three different areas that we need to make sure we trust in God even when it’s difficult. And the first one is I want to make sure we trust in God when life seems stacked against me.

We look in Isaiah chapter 36. And Isaiah chapter 36. As you’re turning there, when you think about this example involving King Hezekiah, consider that the people of Israel have been taken into Assyrian captivity. It was around 722 BC when Assyria dominated Israel, took them away into captivity, and the king of Judah, who would know that, who had a front seat to that, would be Hezekiah. Hezekiah understood what had happened. He knew that the people of Israel had been lost, and they had been lost because they had rejected God. But make no mistake, Assyria did not only dominate Israel. They didn’t only, as in this story, come against Judah. Assyria was a world power that was ruthless, and they dominated the region of the world that they existed in.

They were not just dominating forces. As I said, they were ruthless, they were mean, they were brutal, and they were successful. It’s in Isaiah chapter 36 that we find this brutal, successful world empire who has already taken Israel to the north, coming for Judah, the tribes to the south. Beginning in verse 4, we see the Rab Shakh of Assyria saying to the people, say to Hezekiah, thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, on what do you rest this trust of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust that you have rebelled against me? Behold, you are trusting in Egypt that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it, such as Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who trust in him.

But if you say to me, We trust in the Lord our God, is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, you shall worship before this altar? Come now, make a wager with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses, if you were able on your part to set riders on them. How then can you replace a single captain among the least of my master servants when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come against this land to destroy him? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it. And argument after argument is piled on on this Assyrian Rabshaka.

He comes to the people, this leader of the army, and he’s telling Judah, do not fight us. Why not? You will lose. You will be crushed. In fact, if you go through the arguments, he starts in verse 6 saying, Are you trusting in Egypt? They will not be able to support you. We will dominate them. In verse 7, if you say we trust in the Lord our God, isn’t not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed? Well, it was true that Hezekiah had undone a lot of high places and altars that his father, working King Ahaz, had put up in the land of Judah. Of course, it’s also Hezekiah’s son of Manasseh, who would also incorporate idolatrous practices at the beginning and for much of his reign.

But Hezekiah was a righteous man who was restoring Judah to be the God-fearing people that they had been designed to be. And yet it’s still that trust that’s called out at the end of verse 10 when the question is raised by the Rabshaka, do you not think that the Lord has sent me? That’s the claim. It’s bold, it’s hard to believe, and yet he’s saying, The Lord has sent me to come against you.

That Assyria would oppress his people, that they would take Israel, which they had. You see, this Rabshaka is saying, You don’t have a chance. You don’t have the men to fight us. You can’t trust in Egypt to fight us. And what about the Lord? Not only will he not be successful, but he told me to come for you. The odds were very small. Militarily, the people of Judah were no match for the kingdom of Assyria. But let’s read how this continues. They were worried in verse 11, and they say, Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall. But the Rabshaka said, As my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?

Then the Rabshaka stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah, hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus says the king, do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. He’s going in for the death blow. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, make your peace with me, and come out to me. And each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Beware lest Hezekiah misleads you by saying, The Lord will deliver us. Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sephirothim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? But they were silent and answered in not a word. For the king’s command was, do not answer him. You see, the plea was strong. The forces of Assyria were going to come for Judah, and what they’re saying is, if you don’t go along with us, this will not work.

Don’t trust in what Hezekiah is telling you. He cannot deliver you. He cannot stand up against us. But the key is it wasn’t Hezekiah who was standing up against Assyria. Because where was Hezekiah’s trust? Where was Hezekiah telling the people to place their hearts, their trust in the Lord? And of course, the argument is made in verse 18 and 19, and even punctuated in verse 20, saying, We’ve dominated all these gods. Who is your God that he will defeat us? Assyria had moaned through this land. They had conquered even the land of Israel, by the way. Who are you? Who is Hezekiah? To say that the Lord will deliver you. Of course, Hezekiah has a ch a choice to make. Does he capitulate with Assyrians’ demands, Assyria’s demands, or does he change in verse chapter 37 in verse 1, as soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord.

And verse 3, that says, Hezekiah, this day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace. Children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshaka, whom his master, the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left. Hezekiah had a choice to make. When militarily Judah was absolutely no match for Assyria. When the prospects of any sort of war would have ended not only in defeat, but utter brutality. And Hezekiah’s trust was not shaken. It was not moved by the great Assyrian battle record.

It was not moved by the great rhetoric of the Rapshaka. Hezekiah knew his trust was only in the one who could deliver them. There was only one way that Judah at this time in this world could battle against Assyria and win. And it would be with the Lord on their side. Of course, it’s found out in chapter 37 and verse 6 that Isaiah says, Thus says the Lord, do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land. As you turn, as you move forward in your Bibles and you see the end of the story beginning in verse 36 of chapter 37, you see that the Lord did deliver his people, that the prayer was heard, that the mourning, the concern, the trust that Hezekiah placed only in God was rewarded.

In verse 36, and the angel of the Lord went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, there were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. And as he was worshipping in the house of Nizrach his God, Adrimelech and Sharezer his son struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of Eratat, Esar Hadan, his son, reigned in his place. God not only delivered as he said, God delivered Judah a victory that they could not have won without him. It’s easy to read a story like this because we read about all the military conquests of the people of Israel, and even the fact that here Judah would repel the Assyrian army, because we know God was behind them, that God would give them the victory.

But the truth is sometimes in my life, perhaps you have shared this, where you think, where am I going to finally get my break? How am I going to get ahead? How is this continually happening to me? Why is it always my family who struck? Why is it that I can’t find what I need to get by in this life? Sometimes it just seems like everything in this life is stacked against me. That I have nowhere to turn, that I just cannot win.

That we cannot win unless we are with God. We must trust that God will deliver us. We must trust that God is our fortress. When times are toughest, is the time to turn to God, to trust him, not turn to God as some sort of last resort, wish-granting genie, but to know that God has our best interest and heart. That doesn’t mean that God is going to make this life a cakewalk. That doesn’t mean that God is going to reach down to make sure that all my dreams come true. But it does mean that I can make it, that I can do it. And when life is hard, and when I’m in mourning, I need to know that I have a rock, and my rock will not be moved.

2. Trust God When the World Seems Out to Get Me

No army of man, no ruling prince can ever defy my God because he is Lord. He is the King of kings. Jesus is the Lord of lords. God rules in the kingdoms of men. We serve a great, powerful God, and we need to trust that we can tap into that power by being with him. Again, that doesn’t make him some sort of wish granting genie. It doesn’t mean that every time we pray that the answer will be yes. But it does mean that when life is tough, it’s a great time to take stock and to be like Hezekiah, to recognize that there is only one way of deliverance, and that’s trusting in the Lord. I want to look at a second circumstance that we need to trust in God, even when the world seems out to get me.

Now that doesn’t just mean that when life is stacked against me, but when individuals, when those who I am surrounded by, seem like they are making their entire life’s work about ruining my life, impacting my day. Perhaps your boss or fellow employer or family is working against you. In Nehemiah chapter 4, you see that the world was out to get the Israelites, was out to get those who were returning from captivity. In Nehemiah chapter 4, begin reading with me. And verse 1, as we think about Bible history, we see all the three waves of people who moved back after Judah was taken, not by Assyria, but by Babylon. And what we see is there were three waves, first led by Zerebuble, then led by Ezra. And now we’re being led by Nehemiah around perhaps 444 BC, and he’s trying to help them build up the wall.

And in Nehemiah chapter 4, that is not what the world wanted. Now when Sembalad heard that they were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, what are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish and burn one burned ones at that? Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, Yes, what they are building. If a fox goes on it, he will break down their stone wall. Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads, and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.

Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders. So we built the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. So we see the people are upset there against the Jews, they’re saying their wall wouldn’t even hold up against a fox. It wouldn’t make it, it’s not gonna work. But what were they worried about? That the people could do it. In fact, and that’s exactly what happened in verse 6. They built a wall. And when it was about half its height, the people were showing a mind to work. But of course now the world was going to have to kick in a little bit harder.

But when Sembala and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashtadites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. Do you see this in verse 8? And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. In Judah it was said, the strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble by ourselves. We will not be able to rebuild the wall. And our enemy said they will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.

This was a hard time for the Jews. This was tough. They were half finished. Or you might say they were only half finished. You see, the plot thickens when in verse 7 they decide that we have to plot together. This whole group of these foreign nations are going to plot together, they’re going to cause confusion. They’re going to make sure the Jews don’t finish the wall.

I think a lot of times, if I think about my life and when I’m concerned about other people coming out to get me, if we’re honest, can we see that most of the time people actually aren’t? Most of the time it actually isn’t really all about me, anyway. Perhaps that’s just in my mind. But in this case of Nehemiah chapter 4, these nations were explicitly out to cause confusion, to cause problems. In fact, their plan in verse 11 was to come and to kill them and to stop the work. That’s a heavy burden to consider that the people of Israel not only had to finish a wall, but they had to be able to answer against these people who were plotting to confuse and to kill them, so they would not finish this wall.

In verse 12, at that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, You must return to us. So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall in open places, I stationed the people by their clans with their swords, their spears, and their bows, and I looked in a rows and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes. In verse 21, so we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out.

I also said to the people of that time, let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day. So neither I nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes. Each kept his weapon at his right hand. Of course, as we know from Bible history, they did finish the wall. But do you know what the response of Nehemiah with the people was? It was not to roll over, it was not to bemoan how tough it was. But what did they do? They stayed ready. It wasn’t just about just sitting there and saying, okay, God’s going to deliver us.

We’re just going to sit here and we’re going to do what we need to do. What’d they do? Half of them took up spears. They called in the Jews in verse 12. They called in reinforcements to come and be there. They were active. They were alert. They were ready for the enemy. See, in the first point, when life seems to act against you, it’s true we can rely on God as our fortress. It is true that without God we will not have the ultimate spiritual victory. But it is also true that God expects of us to trust in him and to act on that trust. You see, Nehemiah just didn’t say, let’s just sit down. But you see in verse 14, he looked and he said to the nobles, do not be afraid.

Remember the Lord. What were they to remember? Well, as Jews, they would know that God took his people out of Egyptian bondage. He had crossed, they had crossed the Red Sea as though it was dry ground. They would remember that, yes, they had been taken into captivity, but just as the prophet said, they were taken back from captivity. They would be back in their land which they’re in. And remember that the Lord is great and awesome. And fight for your brothers. Fight for your sons, fight for your daughters, fight for your wives and your homes. What happened to those plans in verse 15? When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.

From that day on, half my servants worked on construction, and half held the spear, shield, bows, and coats of mail. And the leader stood behind the whole house of Judah. The people worked. The people trusted. But if you look at what Nehemiah did in verse 9, we see that he prayed to God. He set a day and a night watch in verse 9. He said in verse 13, armed men to be prepared. He kept the trumpeter by his side in verse 18. He urged trust in God. And it wasn’t just a mental acceptance. It wasn’t just this mental claim that God’s going to make everything perfect and right. It was a trust that God would deliver over any enemies who would cross his path. But one other important point to consider about Nehemiah chapter 4 is what was it that the people were trying to frustrate?

What were their plans? It was to rebuild the wall.

This was not about their self-esteem. They were doing something that was to be done as a people of God. I need to remember that if the world’s out to get me on something, it’s not God’s prerogative to step in. It’s not his force, it’s not his promise to make everything be wonderful and right. But when it comes to the plan of God, when it comes to doing as God has commanded me, I can trust that God will deliver.

3. Trust in God Even If I Don’t Fully Understand Why

They had spiritually been turned back to God, and now they were building up the fortified cities of the land that God had returned them to. I didn’t even remember if the world seems out to get me. I need to check first of all, am I doing what God would have me do? Because it might be the right time for me to evaluate. Am I running towards God or away from him? One final point in Genesis chapter 22, and this is perhaps the toughest. I need to trust in God even when life’s stacked against me. If the world seems out to get me, but even if I don’t fully understand why. And Genesis chapter 22 is perhaps one of the most startling requests that God makes, one of the most startling commands that God gives someone who would obey him.

In Genesis chapter 22, we’re talking, of course, about Abraham. And perhaps in the startling, the startling command that’s given in this story, we see that Abraham is going to be asked of something very difficult. In verse 1, after these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, Here I am. He said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love. And go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. In Genesis chapter 22, Abraham is asked to offer his son Isaac. This is the promised seed. Of course, we know that because of the people of Israel, that Isaac would survive this. But consider Abraham for just a moment.

This was the promised son. The son that God says of Abraham, the son that you love. This wasn’t just anyone. This was the chosen one. This is the one that they had waited for. This is the son who was supposed to carry on the promise. This was the son who came after the intervention of Abraham who had Ishmael because he wasn’t patient enough waiting for God’s plan to be fulfilled. This Isaac is finally here. Abraham loves his son, and the request is to go and offer him as a burnt offering. I don’t know what Abraham fully thought. We’re going to read about a little bit of what he did think in Hebrews chapter 11 shortly. But you know, a lot of times in this life, there’s just times I don’t understand why what’s happening continues to go on.

I don’t know why overseas that Christians have to face such tough persecution. I understand who the forces are. I understand why they’re trying to stamp out Christianity. But sometimes I don’t understand how I was fortunate enough to be born in this country. Where we have this freedom, where we can openly study the Bible. Sometimes I don’t understand why God expects me to do all that he does. But the truth of the matter is, if we can be like Abraham, then we can trust in God. If we have the faith that Abraham did, we will just do it. Because we know our God is our refuge. We know that our God’s steadfast love endures forever. And we know that we can cling to God. And in God alone do we have hope.

In God we must trust. In verse 3, Abraham responds to this request by rising early in the morning, saddling his donkey, and he took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac, and he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you. Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.

And Isaac said to his fat to his father, Abraham, My father. And he said, Here I am, my son. He said, Behold the fire in the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. So they went, both of them together. How grueling. How tough an ask of Abraham. Any son, but especially this son, Isaac. To have to go up with him with the fire, with the knife, knowing that what God had requested of him was to take his life to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. In Hebrews chapter 11, we see a little bit more about Abraham’s idea. In Hebrews chapter 11, I hope you’ll turn there with me.

I think it’s important to understand where Abraham’s faith was, and it gives us an idea of where his mind was. And while I may not fully understand everything that God asked of me or why life is happening the way that it is, Hebrews chapter 11, perhaps we could benefit from the type of faith and trust that Abraham had. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 17, by faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, Through Isaac shall your offspring be named. He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. If you would read the rest of Genesis chapter 22, you would see that the knife was raised, that Abraham was going to go through with God’s toughest command, that he was going to pass the test of God.

And of course, the angel of the Lord appeared and spared Isaac. But in Hebrews chapter 11, we see a little bit of what Abraham thought back in chapter 22 of the book of Genesis and 19. He considered that God was able to raise him from the dead. Not only did Abraham just do as God commanded, he trusted that God would provide. And that’s the trust that we must have. If we don’t see the whole picture, we need to know that God has it. I think sometimes we try to put together the whole puzzle of our life when we only have a few pieces and we don’t have the full box to look at. Yes, we know what we are to be like as Christians, but when it comes to my job, my family, my day-to-day life, we don’t really know exactly what it’s supposed to be.

We don’t know exactly what it’s supposed to look like, how the pieces and the parts are going to go together. We don’t even know if we will live past today. The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. But God does. God knows how our life is to fit together. God had promised Abraham that Isaac would be the son of blessing. And so Abraham knew that even if he had to be raised from the dead, God’s promises would be kept. And the good news this morning is that God has promised us great things. Not that we will live a life of luxury here, but that we can be with him forever. That is the prize. That’s what we’re living for. And the truth is that doesn’t take away the sting of some of life’s problems, of some of life’s bites.

Conclusion

But it can remove the force of impact. It says, why would this happen? Because we know problems happen in this life because we’re apart from God. Because it’s not where we’re supposed to be. We’re supposed to be with God. We are living here to be with God forever. That’s our goal. That’s our aim. When life’s tough, I need to remember I’m not living here. I’m going there. That’s our life. I need to trust in God even when life seems stacked against me. And I can have my trust in God because I know his steadfast love endures forever. I need to trust in God even when everyone seems out to get me, because I know God is not. God is my fortress. God’s steadfast love endures forever.

I need to trust in God even when I don’t yet fully understand why or how this life fits together. Because I can trust the one who made it. I can trust in God whose steadfast love endures forever. Life sometimes gives us plenty of tests. It said that Abraham is tested in Genesis chapter 22 and in Hebrews chapter 11. The truth is we face all kinds of tests in this life. They come from different sources, they come from different angles. But the truth of the matter is, we can have victory. Like Hezekiah, who trusted in God, and God so defeated the Assyrians, just as he had said. Just as Nehemiah and the people of Judah were able to finish the wall, despite all the people conspiring against them.

And just as Abraham trusted in God, even to the point of offering up his son Isaac, knowing that God would even raise him from the dead to keep his promise. We serve a great, powerful, and faithful God. Let’s remember that when times are tough. In the times of darkness, we need to remember what God has told us in the light. It’s easy when life’s good to trust in God and to say, God’s blessing me. But the truth is the same God is blessing us even when times are tough, when life is hard. Let’s live for tomorrow. Let’s live for being with God forever and not let today distract us from our mighty, powerful God whose steadfast love endures forever. It’s often difficult to maintain our faith in God, to maintain the trust, certainly to emulate the trust of Abraham.

But the truth is that we can do it. And not only can we do it, but God does expect that of us. If we want to trust in God, if we’re going to stay with Him, we have to know that God has expectations for us as His people. And that is to crucify ourselves, to be transformed by the renewal of our mind, and press on towards the goal. If you’re not a Christian, realize that to be a benefit, to be a benefit from God’s great blessings. You need to trust in Him. You need to believe in Him and do what that says. That means being prepared. Reading the book, the words of life. You can be baptized this morning and have your sins washed away, taking advantage of the body and blood of Christ.

If you are a Christian who’s lost your trust, realize that in God alone can we stand. In God we must trust. If we can help you in any way this morning, come forward as we stand and sing the invitation song.