Trusting God in the crumbling . . .

 

2 Chronicles 3–4; Nahum 2; Luke 18; 1 John 3

Jesus told His disciples parable to encourage them to always pray and not lose heart. I’m feeling discouraged about world events, local news, and a host of things — so this story is for me too . . .

“In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ”.

And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1–8)

This is helpful; I am to persist, but the last line jolts a bit. One commentary says Jesus was not ignorant of the answer nor was He questioning whether all believers would be gone when He returns. Instead, He asked the question to spur the disciples on to faithfulness in prayer. The context adds a bit more to His intention.

In the previous chapter, He told the disciples the danger of temptations and to rebuke those who fall into it, but also to forgive them. At that, the disciples asked Him to increase their faith and He told them faith was not measured by size; you either have it or you don’t — even tiny faith is powerful. He spoke of them doing their duty, then cleansed ten lepers with only one coming back to praise God and thank Him.

Then Jesus answered the Pharisees who wanted to know about the future ‘arrival’ of the kingdom they hoped for. He said it was not an observable event but was already “in the midst of you” or within their reach. That is, if they acknowledged Him as their Messiah, they would know more answers. He then gave to the disciples a few hints about the future, vague but including His rejection and the need for them to focus.

After the story of the praying widow, Jesus told them of two men. One was “good” and in self-righteousness thanked God he was not like the other one, a tax collector who asked God for mercy and called himself a sinner. Jesus then had to tell the disciples to allow little children to come to Him for the kingdom was made up of people who were like children. The rich young ruler came next, a man who asked how he could inherit eternal life. Instead of telling him that this life is a gift, Jesus told him to give up all he depended on, but the man became sad rather than willing to let go of his wealth.

APPLY: If I read myself into these accounts, I can see the struggles with trusting God. First, the temptations do come, such as distractions, doing my own thing, doubt that God hears me, and a host of reasons to stop going to Him with problems. Faith in prayer flies out the door when I yield to any notions that side-track me, yet I know that if I simply go to prayer, even as a duty, my zeal for talking with the Lord returns. Like that healed leper, I need to praise and thank Him. It may feel at first like a sacrifice, but when I obey and keep at it, faith comes flying back in.

As for future events, Jesus knows what I need to know; He is the Messiah, the Savior and Lord of all. That is sufficient. The kingdom is both literal and spiritual but either way, it is about living under the dominion of the King and trusting Him with today, tomorrow, next week . . . all the issues of this pandemic, and a host of unknowns are under His rule. Just trust the King of kings.

The rest of the parables are warnings to my attitude; none of that self-righteous stuff that stops “fervent, effectual” prayer and becomes mere boasting. I exist because of God’s mercy and grace. Also, yield to the childlike thing. I may not feel very powerful at times or find satisfaction for my ‘grown-up’ mind, but faith in my Father is extremely restful and joyful. Children don’t worry about anything — from daily stuff like where their next meal will come from to the state of the economy or who won the last election. He is holding my hand and will tell me whatever I need to know.

In all these verses, Jesus makes plain that the faith He hopes to find at His return is that kind of trust He describes for right now, today. Just trust Him for each scary moment, each difficult challenge, each time I wonder what will happen next. He is sufficient to rule over all!