The Practice of Trust
Here is another excerpt from James Spiegel’s Gum, Geckos and God. This brief passage deals with how and why we trust God (or fail to trust God).
The other day I was sitting in a faculty meeting, trying not to doze off during some committee reports. As I looked around, I mused over how much each of my colleagues understands about his or her discipline. It occurred to me that if there was a single mind that possessed all of the knowledge in that room, its intelligence would be surpassed in human history. I also considered how easy it would be to trust such a person if he or she were to counsel me on some matter. From there I extrapolated: What if that person had all of the combined knowledge of everyone in Indiana? In the United States? Of the entire world population? Even if God had merely the sum of all human understanding, he should be easy to trust. Yet his wisdom and knowledge infinitely exceed the best human comprehension. Still we struggle to trust him. How twisted is that?
Faith is essentially the practice of trust. And our routine failure to properly trust an infinitely wise God reveals something of our own perversity. We all desire to control our circumstances, and faith is a surrendering of that control. So we naturally tend to rebel against faith. But God graciously counteracts this tendency by nurturing us. Like a good parent, he consistently demonstrates his love. And we, like kids, must trust him on this basis.
Comments (6) »
1. Chris
April 23, 2008
5:10 PM
I have had thoughts along the same lines before, but could not have expressed them with this clarity. Mine were more along the lines of trusting a bank with money, trusting a doctor with health decisions, trusting an insurance company to cover losses, etc. It’s amazing who we are prepared to trust before (or instead) of God. Nice quote.
2. SteveE
April 23, 2008
6:27 PM
I have watched you over the past few weeks and you and I seem to be on the same track. I have had to deal with many folks over the past couple of months that seem to hold onto a version of faith that is little more than skin deep. It is….disappointing…. to say the least, in more than a little way.
Your thoughtful introspection of the past seems to be in line with many things I have had to deal with. I can only pray that people realize how much a just form of judgement may mean that they don’t get to be part of the saved. Keep your spirit and your family first.
Steve
3. The Thirsty Frenchman
April 23, 2008
8:35 PM
Very good quote. A timely one for me.
SteveE, in relation to the quote Tim has shared, I’m not sure I understand what you mean by “I can only pray that people realize how much a just form of judgement may mean that they don’t get to be part of the saved.”
4. Joe
April 24, 2008
12:19 AM
The idea that a being with all human understanding would be easy to trust doesn’t quite sit well with me. While such a being would indeed be unsurpassingly intelligent, they would be still be quite limited in their wisdom and intelligence as regards anything that is outside of human understanding, yes? Then again, maybe that being would be easy to trust, because we could relate to and undertand them, being that their understanding, while more comprehensive than any one of us, doesn’t surpass any of us in scope or possibiltiy. I think that it is the reality that God is infinitely knowledgeable and wise in ways that are not even accessible to us, is exactly what makes Him difficult to trust (because we don’t understand Him), and at once what should cause us to place our trust in Him (because He understands all those things that are not even accessible to us). However, even with that kind of knowledge, it is God’s character, not his infinite knowledge, that should compel us to trust Him. A being with all of God’s knowledge, could theoretically be evil, and use that knowledge against us. However, God has proven his character to us, and told us what His character is through Scripture, and it is that character, combined with His infinite knowledge, that makes a compelling case for placing our trust in Him…. Sorry if that sounds disjointed, just thinking out loud…any thoughts?
5. Dan Hagan
April 24, 2008
4:17 AM
Dear Thirsty, (thirsty for the Lord I presume…?)
SteveE’s words: “I can only pray that people realize how much a just form of judgment may mean that they don’t get to be part of the saved.”
My guess would be that SteveE prays that all people would realize that in God’s perfect justice there will be a great disappointment for those who have followed the wrong path (are deceived) and don’t realize it and are spiritually lost.
Respectfully,
Dan…
6. Dan Hagan
April 24, 2008
5:01 AM
Spiegel: “But God graciously counteracts this tendency by nurturing us. Like a good parent, he consistently demonstrates his love. And we, like kids, must trust him on this basis.”
We are like the toddler who has been told repeatedly by a loving parent not to touch the hot stove! Yet the parent will at some point let the child find out why he should obey, when no serious damage will be done. The resulting pain will teach both that he should trust and therefore obey the much wiser parents.
At the Fall, a pride filled Adam and Eve did not trust God’s counsel. And because they thought they knew better (they would become like God himself…) they touched the hot stove! At this point our complete destruction could have, and probably should have been the result of our disobedience (sin). But thankfully, our loving and faithful Father decided otherwise… A loving and supreme solution was ready, willing, and already in place to heal the resulting wound.
This supreme “teachable moment” has been counseling mankind ever since!
In Christ…