Tag Archives: Trusting God

Day 164: Saved by Faith

Jeremiah 39:15-18

Now Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying, “Go, and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will bring my words on this city for evil, and not for good; and they will be accomplished before you in that day. But I will deliver you in that day,” says Yahweh; “and you will not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely save you. You won’t fall by the sword, but you will escape with your life, because you have put your trust in me,” says Yahweh.’ ”

Now we know why Ebedmelech the Ethiopian tried to save Jeremiah. He did it because he actually believed that what Jeremiah was saying was coming from God Himself. God makes it clear that Ebedmelech had put his trust in God. As I mentioned before, Ebedmelech’s life was crumbling around him as Jerusalem was under attack.

God makes it clear that because Ebedmelech trusted in God, he would not die like the others. This is God’s pattern and it is obvious by how He has dealt with us. Because we have believed in God’s message and put our trust in Him, we have been given life too.

I believe that it’s important to for us to take note of the fact that Ebedmelech’s faith wasn’t merely an internal affair. He didn’t privately believe on the inside and pretend to not believe on the outside. His faith in the inside turned into action as he did all he could to save Jeremiah from dying in the well. Even though it was his faith that saved him, his faith was real and it eventually became obvious by the good works that he did. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have faith if we sin, but it does mean that our faith will be made evident by what we do eventually. That’s because we act on what we actually believe in. It’s important to understand, however, that it wasn’t Ebedmelech’s good works that saved him. It was his trust in God.

Day 159: The Incredible Mercy of God

Jeremiah 38:14-18

Then Zedekiah the king sent and took Jeremiah the prophet to himself into the third entry that is in Yahweh’s house. Then the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? If I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.”

So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As Yahweh lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you will go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul will live, and this city will not be burned with fire. You will live, along with your house. But if you will not go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you won’t escape out of their hand.’ ”

After years and years of warnings, and after the more recent warnings of God’s prophet Jeremiah, God gives Zedekiah one last chance to save Jerusalem. After all of the anger that God has expressed, He was still willing to accept Judah’s repentance. This is definitely not human behavior and it also demonstrates that “the God of the Old Testament” is far from being mean. What we actually see is a God who desperately wishes He didn’t have to punish His children.

We also experience the challenges that Jeremiah had in his daily walk with God. God had promised Jeremiah that he would not be killed as long as he continued to give out God’s messages faithfully. Even though he knew this, he was still defensive when the king asked Jeremiah for news from God. It could be that Jeremiah was just saying this for the kings benefit, but I think that if it were me, I would have been asking to protect myself and I think that God actually expects this of us. It’s natural and right to do what we can to avoid death! I believe that our avoidance of death is a part of His plan to keep us from it. Even so, we should also keep trusting God’s promises as we do what we can to protect ourselves.

King Zedekiah’s fear of man was evident in his life. He appears to have handed Jeremiah over to be killed when he was afraid of the princes and the military. Now, he’s talking to Jeremiah in secret again. The kings cowardice is in stark contrast to Jeremiah’s bravery, and that continues to play out as we read on. It is very comforting that we have a God who is willing to not give us what we deserve if we are willing to simply start obeying Him again.

Day 139: How Does This Make Sense God?

Jeremiah 32:24-27

“Behold, siege ramps have been built against the city to take it. The city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, of the famine, and of the pestilence. What you have spoken has happened. Behold, you see it. You have said to me, Lord Yahweh, ‘Buy the field for money, and call witnesses;’ whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”

Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying, “Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?

God is the maker of all reasoning, yet, there are times in life when what God tells us to do doesn’t seem to make any sense at all. This passage is an excellent example of this. Jeremiah is in jail, the remainder of his country is crumbling before his eyes. God had made it clear that He intended to destroy the land and even told Jeremiah to tell people to leave. Now, God tells him to buy land. How in the world does that make any sense?

I’ve been in this kind of situation in my mind many times with God. It’s one of the reasons that I look forward to getting a new body. I can’t stand the fact that I stress over things that I can’t understand. My problem is the same one that Jeremiah has and God addresses it in the first question of His response. Is there anything too hard for God? The funny thing about that is that Jeremiah just said that to God in His prayer. I think that Jeremiah was saying that in reference to the fact that God destroyed Judah even though it didn’t seem likely to the people, but now God is trying to tell Jeremiah that God will restore Israel even though it doesn’t seem likely to him! I think that Jeremiah is trying to process how these two things can possibly happen.

God is not necessarily going to explain how it will happen, but He will repeat what will happen to Jeremiah next. What Jeremiah needed and what we need, is to simply trust in God’s power to do everything He says He will do. We need to really take hold of the fact that God is able to do anything. If God needs to create the whole universe in six days, then He can. If He needs to have a virgin give birth, He can. If He needs to raise the dead, He can. If He decides to completely destroy and remake the universe, He can. Jesus is our best example. When the storm raged around Him, He decided to take a nap. May God help us to trust in His power and follow the example of Jesus.

Day 81: Humanism vs. God

Jeremiah 17:5-8

Yahweh says:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man,
relies on strength of flesh,
and whose heart departs from Yahweh.
For he will be like a bush in the desert,
and will not see when good comes,
but will inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
an uninhabited salt land.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh,
and whose confidence is in Yahweh.
For he will be as a tree planted by the waters,
who spreads out its roots by the river,
and will not fear when heat comes,
but its leaf will be green,
and will not be concerned in the year of drought.
It won’t cease from yielding fruit.

This is one of the most important passages in the Bible to me because of how it has helped me with important issues in the culture. There is a war raging and at the base of that war is a philosophy. One side says that we should trust in experts, government officials and clergy. The other side says that we need to stick to the Bible. This passage tells you how to handle this dilemma in no uncertain terms.

It all comes down to one question: “Who are you placing your trust in?” Are you trusting in what a man has said? Or, are you trusting in what God has said? God tells us, through Jeremiah, that the answer to that question will have an effect on your well-being. It’s a critical decision. If you decide to trust in man, you will have a hard life. God tells us that you won’t be able to “see when good comes.” Instead, you will have to live in a place where nothing grows. You will have a bad economy even if opportunity is right in front of you.

If, on the other hand, you choose to put your confidence in God. Your life will be good even if you have to go through a drought. Life will still spring up for you even in the hard times.

Here are some things to consider. When clergy tell you that evolution is probably correct even though the Bible says it only took six days, you have a choice to make. The beneficial choice is to go with what God says and believe in six days. When a scientist tells you that we should worry because of man-made climate change, while the Bible tells us that God is the controller of the climate, the economic choice is to go with what God says in the Bible and not worry. You will probably see more clearly to take advantage of opportunities God has given. If man says that parents shouldn’t spank their children and you read differently in the Bible, your life will be better if you do what the Bible says and your children will grow too. Do you see how important and practical this is? These are only a few cultural issues.

Satan used this very issue to corrupt the human race. He said to Eve: “Did God really say…?” He got Eve and Adam to trust in themselves. When we trust in man, we are cursed and when we trust in God we are blessed.

Day 80
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Day 82

Day 63: Justice and Mercy to the Nations Around Israel

Jeremiah 12:14-17

Yahweh says, “Concerning all my evil neighbors, who touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit: Behold, I will pluck them up from off their land, and will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. It will happen that after I have plucked them up, I will return and have compassion on them. I will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. It will happen, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As Yahweh lives;’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the middle of my people. But if they will not hear, then I will pluck up that nation, plucking up and destroying it,” says Yahweh.

Do you remember how many times we read that God would bless Israel, then they would go away from God and then He would punish them, then they would cry out to God and He would have mercy on them and save them? In this passage, God appears to be saying that this is how He works in the nations around Israel. If they “swear by” His name instead of by some other, then He would build them up. If not, He would tear them down too. That is very exciting to me because it shows us that God cares about Gentiles. It also tells us that He gave nations other than Israel their own place. We know that this is true because we read about that in the books of Moses. God even told Israel to not try to take the land of certain other nations because He had given it to them.

I believe that this passage may apply to nations other than those that are right around Israel. In a way, the United States is a neighbor to Israel today. I believe that God has already blessed our nation for acknowledging Israel’s God. Our money even declares our motto. Our nation intended to trust in the God of Israel and nothing else. We have been greatly blessed as a result. Notice, however, that if a nation “will not hear,” God will “pluck up that nation, plucking up and destroying it.” So we see that God does not want nations that boarder Israel to not believe in Him.

We know that, someday, the whole world will acknowledge that Jesus is the King of the earth. Even if these things don’t directly apply to nations that aren’t bordering Israel, we know that God works with Gentile nations too. God has a place for all of us and He is the God of the whole world, not just Israel.

Day 62
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Day 64

Day 46: Test Question

John 6:1-7 : After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberias. A great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he did on those who were sick. Jesus went up into the mountain, and he sat there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may receive a little.”

Fear is blinding. When we start focusing on our fears, it becomes nearly impossible to be objective and reasonable. Food is the physical issue in this passage. Last time we talked about food it was when the Samaritan crowd was about to interfere with the disciples eating plans. As before, the solution was to focus on higher, more important things to God. Jesus has several things to say about food and working for it making it a significant theme in the book of John.

Here, Jesus gives Philip a test question. He asks where they should buy bread to feed the crowd. It was a leading question. Jesus didn’t intend to buy anything. Think about this for a moment. The crowd was following Jesus because of His miraculous power. Evidently, Philip and the other disciples were getting their focus off of Jesus and His obvious ability to do anything at any time.

Sometimes, as God’s servants in our work, families and at church, we can get our mental focus shifted off of the spiritual and onto the physical things that surround the spiritual activity. We need test questions like this to show us where we stand right now. It isn’t recorded that Jesus scolded Philip for his answer. Jesus was going to give a real-life example by performing a food miracle. Later, in acts, Philip becomes an amazing example of a tool of God with which He could do any miraculous thing He wanted. But today, Philip was in discipleship school.

In my flesh, I am a man like Philip, I can see how he should have answered, however. He should have said something like: “Jesus, You know we don’t have enough money or time to go into town and buy all the bread we need. Tell me what you want me to do and I will do it.” Unfortunately, I have said the same kind of thing Philip said in my anxious moments recently. I am very thankful that Jesus took the time to make it clear that a focus on money and resources is not the way to live life as a Christian. I know that we are responsible for finances, but we should trust that God will provide what we need Him when He asks us to serve Him.

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Day 47