Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah (Psalm 62:8)Life includes happy and sad events. It offers temptations when I am hurting or uncomfortable, and temptations when I feel great and all is well. This verse says to trust Him at all times; good times and bad, joyful times and when in deep sorrow.
For some, trusting God is easier during the hard times. Their sense of helplessness and need drives them to a higher power. For others, hard times bring them into doubt and they begin questioning the goodness of God.
For some trusting God is easier during the good times. They equate His love and care for them in physical and material blessings. Should the blessings be withdrawn, trust goes with them. For others, good times lead them into a comfortable lull and trusting God is forgotten in the enjoyment of life.
Where am I? I have been on all sides of this testing fence. Right now, I might think that I am trusting God, but a reversal in my circumstances, one way or the other, would reveal whether I actually am or not.
I think I trust God for my daily bread. If my husband lost his job or we had a financial reversal of some kind, would I still trust the Lord? I have no idea. I’d like to think so, but unless that test comes, I don’t know.
I think I trust God to take care of my family. But if one of them were killed in an accident, what would happen to my trust? I don’t want this test to happen, but it could, and such a severe test would certainly bring out what I believe about the sovereign wisdom of my God.
I think I trust God with my eternal destiny. However, as soon as I wrote that sentence, I wondered how this could be tested? Perhaps I’d wonder about it if I disobeyed God severely. Would He then take this gift of eternal life from me? But I know that cannot happen.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)I do not deserve eternal life and I did not earn it. I didn’t conjure up my ability to trust God either. As these wonderful verses say, faith itself is a gift from God — and God does not take away His gifts. Faith may struggle at times, but because I have the life of Jesus, I also have His gift of faith and eternal life.
Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47) and Paul wrote, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).
“Has” is present tense. “Everlasting” is forever, all the time, no ending. Because faith is a gift from God, it is “irrevocable” meaning not able to be changed, reversed, or recovered.
This is great assurance. Life can toss at me all it wants as a threat against my eternal destiny and I will not flunk the test because God keeps His Word. He isn’t going to “unsave” me because I have lapses in my judgment concerning Him. I was not given eternal life on that basis anyway. He saved me by His grace, which is not based on my faithfulness or lack of it.
This holds true for all other tests. Faith is grounded on the faithfulness of God. That rises above my puny abilities, but also above the fickleness of life. Life happens. Negatives are the result of living in a sin-filled world, but the power of God is that even the negatives can be used for my good (Romans 8:28-29).
Sometimes I fall into doubt, or at least flunk a life-test now and then by becoming anxious or worried or questioning. However, God always reminds me that He is holding on to me. I can pour out my thoughts to Him and take refuge in His incredible promises — because He keeps all of them with incredible faithfulness.
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