Just Trust and Obey God…No Matter What!
Those who know me best know that one of the things about God that just totally amazes me and keeps me in continual awe is His faithfulness to ALWAYS confirm the messages He wants to get across to us at any given time. And His timing is always just so totally incredible; yet absolutely undeniable! Well, this past Sunday morning, I was disappointed when I woke up to discover that my power was out, which meant that I couldn’t watch Charles Stanley’s TV program as I usually do. When it’s really good, as it often is, I tend to watch it three times or more, because there’s always so much packed into his messages that you have to listen to it over and over again just to get everything out of it. But my power was out most of the morning and I forgot to try to watch it later that night.
Meanwhile, I’ve had several conversations with FAM Fellowship members and some new people to the ministry over the past few days, in which we discussed why God allows us to go through such difficult times and that His purpose is to mold us into the image of Christ; because He wants us to have the character of Christ and that we wouldn’t ever get there without the trials that come our way and teach us to be totally dependant on God and to humble ourselves and learn to love and forgive others even when they aren’t being very loveable or even seeking our forgiveness. And we discussed how God uses those times to rub off our rough edges as He makes us more like Christ and that this is a continual process. And one of the new members I had this conversation with even mentioned that she saw Dr. Stanley’s message and that the preview for the coming week was about dealing with trials –the same message isn’t necessarily seen at the same time on all of the different stations. And then this morning, I was impressed with how Lorraine Ezell’s Coffee Break message dealt with trusting God no matter what we’re up against and how she made the point that it’s easy to trust God when everything is going great; but the real test is what we do when our back is up against the wall. So here’s Lorraine’s message:
“Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” Psalm 37:3
Do you remember the old hymnal- “Trust And Obey”? Our obedience to God is the greatest proof of our trust in Him. But trust isn’t a “fair weather” thing only. Too many of God’s children have “conditional” trust. They trust Him as long as the sun is shining, the skies in their world are blue, they have plenty to eat, all the bills are paid, there are no conflicts in their life, and all is at peace.
The real test of trust comes in just the opposite conditions. Do you trust Him when all visible means of support are gone? Do you trust Him to carry you through the storm? Do you trust Him when Pharaoh’s army is pursuing? Do you trust Him when the brook is dried up? Do you trust Him when you are standing before the fiery furnace?
It’s one thing to trust God when all is well. It’s another to trust Him when your world is falling apart. Whatever condition your life is in today, whatever situation you are facing, whatever you are going through- good, bad, or otherwise- are you going to put your trust in the Lord? Is your trust “rooted and grounded” in Him? If it’s rooted, if it’s grounded, then it’s established upon a sure, strong and powerful foundation, and it’s a foundation you can put your trust in because it’s Jesus, the Solid Rock.”
Have a great day. Is your trust in the Lord conditional or unconditional?”
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell and it’s sent by email free of charge for the asking from About the Master’s Business Ministry, Inc.
So please feel free to call Lorraine at (601) 833-5278 or E-mail her at mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
And you can visit her on the web at MastersBusiness.org.
Needless to say, I was once again impressed with God’s faithfulness to confirm the messages He seemed to be getting across to some of the people I had been talking to, but little did I know just how faithful! So I was really blown away when I started listening to Charles Stanley’s message from Sunday when Dan sent me a link to it today! It was just totally amazing how much it confirmed the recent conversations about how and why God uses the difficult times in our lives to mold and shape us to make us more like Christ; even down to using some of the very same words and phrases! Now ONLY God could do that! How awesome it is to know that God, with all of the life and death issues He has to be concerned with, is so intimately and actively involved in the most minute details of our lives that He would go to such lengths to remind and reassure us of just how involved He is! And when we truly understand that, we can’t help being blessed and encouraged! So listen to the following message from Charles Stanley to better understand God’s purpose for the trials you’re now experiencing and how they can be used for your good and His glory.
Life’s Trials Explained