Monday, November 10, 2008

TRUST 3

Psalm 112:1,7—Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands . . . He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

It started when my good friends Rob and Glenn realized they had to install a handicapped accessible restroom in their San Diego church. The molehill they faced turned into a mountain. At a cost of $50,000 a ramp had to be built, doors had to be widened, and handicap accessible doors with electronic openers installed. During the construction the carpet was ruined. Beneath the tiles underneath the carpet they found asbestos requiring them to call in a removal team. Finally, after much time and expense, the renovations were complete.

Two weeks later a plugged urinal flooded such that water streamed out the front and side doors. Pews were damaged and brand new carpet was ruined. At the same time, many people within the body were suffering. People’s jobs didn’t pay enough to meet their expenses, relationships were tearing apart. It seemed the more they pressed to serve God the more opposition they faced.

Rob began to paint his back room at home but the wall paper came off in sheets. He discovered subterranean termites feasting on his home. All of the sheet rock had to come out. This led to the discovery that the electrical wiring was not up to code and was a fire hazard. His VCR and television stopped working. Repair costs climbed higher and higher. When the stress became too great, Rob experienced a massive pity party. While bemoaning his circumstances, he turned on his old TV and happened to catch a preacher by the name of Jesse Duplantis. God used his message on trust to cheer up his servant. Rob thought about all that went on in the church and his home and concluded:
We don’t love God enough to trust Him to meet all of our needs. Our job is to believe that God can do His job. (With the church) We could have responded in many different ways but when something this big happens—what can you do? We chose to believe God. We prayed over the Sanctuary and claimed God’s provision for us His people and put the whole thing in His hands. God met our needs through the insurance company . . . The resources are His, the time is His, and we are His . . . The question for me became, ‘Can I trust God or not?’ I believe the answer is yes, that all He requires of me He has resourced me for. Can I let go of the hurts of my past and believe that He can bring something good out of the ashes? Yes!! I certainly can. All I need has been, is, and will be provided. Wherever you are in your life circumstances, He can do the same thing for you.

Inspiration
To trust in the Lord is to be foolish enough to know that if we fulfil God’s commands, He will look after everything.—Oswald Chambers in Run Today’s Race