Dearly beloved in Christ,
I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today where do we place our trust? People of the world usually place their trust in their wealth, their qualifications, their possessions, their business or job; some believe in their children. All these are transient, and bring about disaster and failures. Some parents with their good intentions to see their children well-placed spend all their money and time on them. Some think that their children should study well and be placed in good jobs so that they would take care of them in their old age. They spend everything they have on them for their future. Their hope and trust are on their children. Instead of seeking God and the fellowship of saints, their children are everything for them.
Once a family came for prayer. They shared about their three children. She was a retired teacher blessed with three girls. All of them studied well. They were also very loving to their parents. She wanted her eldest daughter to study well and pursue higher education. There was good relationship existing among children. She thought the eldest would help the other two daughters after completing her medical course. She also studied well. As she had to spend for her eldest daughter, she put the other two in ordinary courses. The eldest completed her course. She was happy. She thought that after completing her course she would be employed in a good hospital and all the needs of her house would be met easily. But contrary to their expectation, she on completing the course went to live with her boy-friend. She did not return home. When they contacted the college, they were led to understand that she went with another physician to live with him in his town. They were highly disappointed and grief overtook them. Trusting in her, she had made the other two daughter join ordinary courses. She felt very much for those two daughters.
Today in whom do we place our trust? Placing our trust in wrong things and persons, we are cheated and meet with disappointments and failures. I placed my hope and trust on money when I was a teacher in a school. So, I began to do small business. I started a Sports Emporium and relied on it. I had no regard for the word of God. I did not know about it. The Bible says, “... but you shall not borrow...” (Deut. 15:6). At that time, I had a disease which afflicted me much. I was afraid that the disease might deprive me of my life. But at that time, my wife who was beside me read the Bible aloud. A particular verse took hold of my attention. It read: “Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling” (Psalm 91:9-10). These verses restored my faith that I would live. It transformed my life totally. They led me to place my trust in the Lord alone. That night I decided to live and work for Jesus Christ the rest of my life, if the Lord gave me my life. My father was a teacher as well as a preacher. He insisted that I should join a theological seminary on completion of my studies. But I countered that I was not worthy for that. I was reminded of that and committed to serve the Lord full-time. That night the Lord worked a miracle in me. He restored my health. I had always questioned whether there were miracles as in the days of Jesus Christ. Now I believed He is the same today, as He was in the past. I began to place my trust fully in Him and started living a different life. As we trust in the Lord, we are blessed abundantly.
BENEFITS OF TRUSTING IN JESUS CHRIST
1. Deliverance
“Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them.” (Psalm 22:4)
Deliverance is very much needed in life. We are tantalized in the midst of problems. We stumble not knowing what to do. There are many who are with questions of whom to approach or with whom to share their problems for getting help. They keep doing things totally unbiblical from their childhood because of their traditions, cultures and the environment in which they live. For redemption from such practices, we need to place our trust in the Lord totally.
Once I was doing ministry in Nellai region. At that time a widow came to me and shared with me her problem. Her son was well-educated. She was expecting that he would get employed in a college. She had no means to settle the marriage of her daughter. No alliance had come for her and she was aging. I prayed for her. I saw in vision the picture of a dead person in her house with a lamp burning over it. She was standing at times before it with the question what to do. When I enquired about it, she said that it was the photo of her dead husband and admitted that she used to do it in her sorrow. I asked her to keep that photo in an album and to replace it with a good Bible verse. Then she invited me to her house. As she consented to remove the photo, I went to her house. I helped her to remove it as well. Her trust was transferred completely to the Lord that day. The Lord who delivers those who trust in Him delivered the family from their problems. In a few days, her son got employed in the college at Nazareth. She was so happy. She was delivered economically and in other ways. Her daughter’s marriage also was arranged shortly. She was delivered from all her struggles. The Lord who delivers those who trust in Him still lives.
The Lord who promised in Jeremiah 39:18, “For I will surely deliver you...” still lives. When we trust in Him fully, He delivers us from all troubles and blesses us.
2. Shield
“As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” (Psalm 18:30)
In situations when the enemy stands against us, the thing that we need is a shield. In those days the soldiers going to war used to wear a headgear, shoes, a breastplate, spear, and a shield. Spiritually this shield refers to faith as the Bible says, “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” (Eph. 6:16). Psalm 115:9 says, “O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.” It is a weapon of defense against the enemy to protect us from him. There are also other defenses: “For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, but the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it” (Eccl. 7:12). Proverbs 2:7 says, “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly.” The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is a shield to us. This is the shield given to us to defend against and overcome the schemes of the devil. The shield wielded by Goliath was useless to him as it could not protect him from the Lord who was behind David. The shield given by the Lord for our protection is effective and better than any other weapon. This shield gives the children of God protection and victory. Let us trust in the Lord totally and be saved in all situations.
3. Mercy Surrounds
“Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.” (Psalm 32:10)
When we trust in the Lord, His mercy surrounds us and we become strong. Only because of this, we are saved from many troubles and problems. “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.” (Lam. 3:22). This is the mercy shown to undeserving persons. It is an act of kindness extended to sinful persons like us. Even though we continue to sin, by His grace we are not destroyed. Many do not realize this mercy of the Lord and regard it as their fortune.
Once a man from a wealthy family was working as an engineer. I shared with him about Jesus Christ. By the grace of the Lord, in his house we conducted prayer meetings. I told him that because he opened his house for conducting prayer meetings even though he was a non-Christian, the Lord would put a hedge around him and protect him. He was not prepared to accept the fact fully. After a lapse of time, the practice of conducting meetings in his house stopped. I told him that the Lord Jesus Christ loves everyone He has made and that He would protect him in all situations and lead him. One day as he was riding on his motorcycle to the place of his work, he met with an accident and he had severe fractures in his hands and legs. He had fractures at eight places and he suffered a lot. The doctors had doubts about his survival and were discussing as to where to start the treatment. But he recovered very quickly, contrary to their expectation. He understood that it was God who protected him by His grace.
Today, when one meets with failures, or defeats or loss, one is confronted with so many questions and is led to suicide; sometimes such people are driven to destroy those around them. It is the act of the devil that urges to commit suicide. But in those situations, maybe because of children, the mercy of the Lord preserves them and prevents them from resorting to wrong decisions. Dear Brother/ Sister, the grace of the Lord is great and good.
Once a Headmaster of a school and his friend went to see how far they have progressed in the construction of the Parish Hall behind the church. They saw it and had come out only a few yards when a beam of the building collapsed and fell down. They were there under it just a few minutes before. They would have died, had it fell just a minute before. By God’s grace they escaped unhurt. It is said about His grace: “They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:23). Psalm 36:7 says: “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.” This grace is abiding. When we realize it and praise and thank the Lord, we have the exalted experience of salvation. When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Shepherd and trust Him, we follow Him. Then this grace will follow us all the days of our lives.
In this life, there is a lot of scope for sinning in the environment where we are placed. But we should set them aside and pursue the path of faith and hope set before us with patience. This is what the Bible teaches. We are transformed as righteous people in Jesus Christ and His goodness surrounds us as a shield. It has the power to restore and strengthen our life.
Dear Brother/ Sister, your ruined life would be restored and rebuilt by His grace by the trust you place in the Lord. He will not forsake anyone who trusts in Him. He would surround you with His angels and redeem you. Hence, let us place our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, in His name and His Word from the depth of our hearts. Let us be protected and blessed by His grace abounding around us.
4. Expectation Fulfilled
“My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” (Psalm 62:5).
Today we do expect a lot of things. In our childhood we desire for certain things and yearn for them in our hearts. For that we strive. Parents desire that their children should learn well and spend a lot by sacrificing a lot for them. We do this with our understanding and strength. When we meet with failure in our attempts, we are overcome with sorrows and grief. Dearly beloved in Christ, in your life also there are such desires and yearnings, aren’t there? But when you trust in Jesus Christ, all those things we desire would be bestowed on us through Him.
In my youth, I used to sleep in the first floor. The flights could be seen to fly over our house for landing at the airport early in the morning. My house was just 7 kms from the airport. I had an ambition to be a pilot of an aircraft. But as I did not heed to the advice of my parents, I could not clear the tests. Then I completed B. Sc. And also B. P. Ed. Courses. By the grace of God, the very next day I graduated I was appointed as a Physical Education Teacher in Bishop Heber School in Trichy. But my habit of looking at the aircraft did not stop. After our marriage, my parents sent us to Chennai. Then I took my wife to the airport and showed her aircrafts. My sisters poked fun at me for having visited the airport. But when I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour, I decided to live and work for the Lord. After that, for ministry the Lord has taken me to various countries in flight. All my desires were fulfilled through the Lord.
King David had trust in the Lord and used his musical talents to sing and praise the Lord. The Lord accepted him as a man after His own heart even in his youth. There was an occasion to fight against Goliath. He relied on the Lord. He could easily overcome him with the aid of his sling and five stones. He challenged him saying, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Sam. 17:45-46). As he said, so did it happen. He conquered him.
When your trust in the Lord abounds, all your expectations and desire, both big and small, will be fulfilled. Let us trust in Him; all that we do would be fulfilled through Him.
5. Not Shaken
“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.” (Psalm 125:1).
Our life is easily shattered when we hear some bad news. If we do not have the expected gain or yield in what we do, we are upset not knowing what to do. In family lives, people struggle when they do not find the expected peace, or happiness or prosperity. They are prompted to question their very existence and think of ways even to end life. Some in their failure and defeats, turn away from God and stop going to church, reading the Bible and praying. They question the very existence of God. Not only do they turn away from God but also try to wean others from God.
Dearly beloved in Christ, your trust in the Lord will not go in vain. He is the Lord of lords and His words do not change. You place your problems before you and so you are confused. The Bible says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” (Jer. 17:7). If your trust in the Lord is strong and firm, you will not be shaken. If you are focussed on your problems, you will be tossed about as a speck of dust. The Psalmist says, “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” (Psalm 16:8).
Dear child of God, let us place the Lord Jesus Christ always before us. Let us inherit a life of blessing in the Lord without being shaken.
May the Lord bless us!
In the service of Christ Jesus,
Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.
