Trust and Trials

Trust and Trials….

Recall the scene in the old movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in which the twosome jump off a cliff into the roaring river? Towards the end of the movie, after multiple successful escapes, The Kid and Butch Cassidy are cornered, standing on the precipice of a deep canyon with a rapids-filled river at the base of the rocky cliffs.  As the militia closes in on them, they hesitate momentarily to build up some confidence before making the leap into the river below and in that moment The Kid concedes he doesn’t know how to swim.  Butch Cassidy’s quip stated the obvious:  “What are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.” The twosome had a “history” of escaping near death experiences and surviving.    

Analogies can only go so far, but the trial Mary and I presently face would be impossible to comprehend except that we have seen the hand of God before.  We see how he takes my screw-ups, the bad decisions, the wrong thinking and restores.  My trust in a God of Hope (Romans 15:13) is strengthened as I experience His kindness and compassion.  I experience the rock solid foundation of His love.  In essence, trials create a track record that act as a reference point for the next trial we encounter. 

Trust is a conscious decision that is strengthened over time.  I find my trust in God is a bit like the ebb and flow of the tide.  “The heart of man has an inherent inability to trust God.” See http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vista-community-church-dublin/id288508237  I can have a high level of confidence only to have it eroded by some event that I didn’t anticipate or was “out of control.” Trust means that I must give up control and submit to something.  The object of our trust is crucial to the next trial or challenge we face…and trust me on this, those trials are a certainty.

The precipice Mary and I found ourselves contemplating pre and post-surgery involved some pretty tough facts.  I had in mind that I needed the facts and told the medics as much.  I had already solved for the unknown, which is to say, I was confident in the reliability of His promise. I could deal with the issues rationally, because the terror of death was a non-issue. See Isaiah 28:16.  Because the promises of God are reliable, I am certain of my eternal security.  The lie of Satan is that God doesn’t love me…or ideas to that effect. Wrong thinking may cause me to conclude that this is a random event; that God really isn’t in control or as Woody Allen cynically stated, “God is an underachiever.” Perhaps, I screwed-up and did something wrong to cause this.

Instead, terminal cancer is not what God desires, but results from a world full of evil.  As Tim Keller points out, there is an “asymmetrical relationship” between suffering and God. See http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/questions-suffering.  God’s design did not include death, disease and destruction.  The “original sin” unleashed those forces by turning away from God.  God doesn’t condone, but permits sin. 

The bottom, bottom line is one of Trust.  If He is in control of my situation and is working for my welfare (Romans 8:28), how can I move forward with a trusting heart?  What assurance should I have in this process?  If my faith is affirmed in suffering, what “proof” can I share with you as evidence that His foundation and my welfare is secure?  What are the implications of trusting in a Sovereign God?  Stay tuned.