TRUSTING GOD IN DIFFICULT TIMES
INTRODUCTION
I am a biblical teacher! Over the years that gift has led me into various facets of ministry. Today, I live and do ministry in East Africa. Most call me a missionary, but I am a teacher who happens to exercise his gift in a cross-cultural context. Living out God’s purpose for my life is wonderful but it also comes with temptations.
One such temptation is to trust my intellect above God. I am a smart guy with an education. In Africa people usually refer to me by my title: Dr. Danny Davis (not so much in America where people view titles differently). It is easy for me to go to the Scriptures, exegete them, and teach then go on to the next thing.
The problem with that is sometimes I do not take the time to apply the Scriptures personally. I trust my knowledge of Scripture to sustain me – it does not. Doing the word is the real teacher. Because in doing, we learn to live out the word. And in living it out, we position ourselves to trust God in deeper ways.
Jesus depended on the promises of God’s written word when faced with temptation. But the relevance of these promises came alive when He faces adversity from the Devil. The word showed Him how to trust in the Father but living out that word in the face of opposition revealed the Father’s presence. Like Jesus, you and I feel the temptation to trust in other things. In this week’s passage, we learn that when God is with us, we can trust and obey His word. Let us jump into Luke chapter four:
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time (Lk 4:9-13).
THE CONTEXT
To understand this temptation of the Christ from the Devil we need to get the back story. Now remember that up to this point Jesus has responded to every temptation by quoting from Scripture. After every word of temptation spoken by Satan, Jesus says, “It is written…”
The end of this temptation is the same. What is unique about the Devil’s temptation this time is that he is ALSO attempting to use the Bible – the Word of God! That is right, Satan is trying to use the very words of God against the Son of God.
When the Devil says, “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Satan is calling on Psalm 91:11-12:
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Now what the Devil says and what the Psalm says are the same, right? Yes and no. The words are the same, but the motive behind their recitation is quite different! Through years of walking with the Lord I have learned that just because someone quotes a Bible verse does not mean they are teaching the whole council of God. They may simply be using the Bible to try and prove a point the Bible or a passage never intended to make.
The key to understanding the Bible is to read it and study it in “context.” Let me put it like this: if I say, “I got fired today” or “Let’s get fired up” or “He fired a gun” or “She lit a fire” how do you know what I mean? Simple, you must know the context. In other words, you need to know what is going on around the statement (what is not said) to make meaning from it.
Psalms ninety-one tells us that God will give believers protection amid danger. He does not promise a world free of danger, but He does promise help when we face danger. The Psalm is talking about people who trust in God. It is not making or even implying this promise is available to those who willfully commit sin or rebel against God’s council. Applying the promise of protection against trouble arising from deliberate disobedience is just a misuse of Scripture (and often an excuse to commit sin expecting God to get us out of it).
When Satan quotes Psalms 91 he is twisting its context. Any student of the Bible knows the Devil is an expert in bending Scripture to suit his purposes (cf. Gen 3:1-5). Satan is attempting to use the word to get Jesus to commit sin! He is telling Jesus, “Go ahead and tempt God by jumping off this building. Go ahead and see if your Father really cares for you!”
Let us face it if Jesus were to jump from the pinnacle of the temple (considered at that time the highest point on earth) just to put God to the test, it would be wrong. That is why Jesus answers, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” But what does that mean?
TESTING GOD
When Jesus said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” He is quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16.
The book of Deuteronomy is in the Old Testament and written by Moses. In the sixth chapter Moses recalls an incident that happened while Israel wandered in the Desert of Sin. Israel is released from four hundred years of slavery in Egypt but fail to trust God for further promises. The story is found in Exodus 17. The website, Got Questions, offers this comment to set the context:
“As God was leading Moses and His people toward the Promised Land, they camped at a place where there was no water. The Israelites’ immediate reaction was to grumble against God and quarrel with Moses (Ex17:1–3). Their lack of trust in God to take care of them is evident in their accusations toward Moses: “They said, ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?’” (Ex 17:3). The Israelites were obviously in a situation where they needed God to intervene. The point at which they tested God, though, is when doubt and fear overtook them, and they came to the conclusion that God had abandoned them (see Exodus 17:7 – [is God among us or not]). They questioned God’s reliability because He was not meeting their expectations.”
The issue here is not water. God gave them water out from a rock. The issue is not even about whether God can protect them in the desert. The issue is faith. The Israelites concluded based on wrong expectations and hardship that God is not trustworthy. That attitude led them into a place of doubt.
That is exactly the place Satan is trying to bring Jesus. If he can get Jesus to doubt that the Father is truly with Him, then the temptation works. In his book, A Brief Guide to Bible Interpretation, Kenneth Schneck offers this helpful comment:
“Essentially, the devil was telling Jesus to “prove” God’s Word was true by forcing God’s hand—if Jesus was in peril, God would have to save Him. Jesus refused to test God in such a way. We are to accept God’s Word by faith, without requiring a sign (see Luke 11:29). God’s promises are there for us when we need them; to manipulate situations in an attempt to coerce God into fulfilling His promises is evil.”
The only place in Scripture where God specifically say to test Him is in Malachi 3:10:
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
Giving the tithe and offering by faith because the believer understands God will care for them. He will demonstrate His faithfulness to them as they trust Him with their resources. Giving our tithe is not about money. Giving tithes and offerings is about faith in God. Withholding God’s tithe says, “I don’t believe God is able to take care of me!” But God says, give the tithe and offering in faith that I Am with you, and I (God) will prove My faithfulness.
So, what is the difference between one test and the other? Well, the difference is faith. One kind of test says, “God has to prove Himself to me before I will trust Him.” The other kind of test says, “God has already proven Himself to me through His word and His salvation – so I trust Him to help me in the temptation.”
Doubt demands God “prove” Himself before I will obey.
Faith obeys knowing that God is always faithful to His children, even when being obedient does not necessarily make sense to your flesh.
TRUSTING GOD EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND
I Am drawing on an article by Joyce Meyer in the Christian Post entitled, Trusting God When You Don’t Understand. Meyer’s draws on the John 16 to encourage us to live by faith and obey His word. She asks, “Can you think of a time when you felt like, "What in the world is going on in my life? Why did that happen to me? When will I finally get what I have wanted for so long? Why, God, why? When, God, when?!"
I can answer with a resounding, yes! If you have served God for any length of time (and if you are honest) you will answer in the affirmative too. Sometimes we just wonder what God is up to and why. Again, I draw on Meyer’s article to bring some resolution to these uncomfortable moments in our walk with Christ.
Here is a valuable truth to grasp: God loves you! But that does not mean everything in this life is easy. Jesus tells us in John 16:33 that while we are in this world there will be trouble. Understanding this truth helps strengthen our faith so we do not waver.
Jesus did not stop in John 16:33 with the whole “you will have trouble thing.” No! Jesus continues to say…
“…But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Lk 16:33b).
I love the way the Amplified Bible gives us this verse – listen:
“…but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.] (Lk 16:33b)
Words like courageous, confident, undaunted, and filled with joy are not words of doubt. No, they are words that tell us that during those times of trouble WHEN WE ARE TEMPTED TO DOUBT GOD’S ABILITY TO CARE FOR HIS CHILDREN – we stand on the FACT that Jesus has OVERCOME all the tricks and snares of the Devil.
Let me give you one example of how the Devil gets us to doubt God by using a lie that we hear all the time. Tell me if you have ever heard this, “Life just isn’t fair!” Have you heard that? Have you said that?
Something went wrong at work. A friend betrays you. People do not keep their word. Sickness comes on you. In these moments, the temptation to doubt God and declare “LIFE IS JUST NOT FAIR” creeps in on us. This short little phrase carries enormous weight. In fact, the statement may be true in your life. Sometimes things are just not fair – BUT GOD IS ALWAYS JUST. That means He will always do what is right!
You see, in this world people want everything to be fair. In God’s world there is more concern about justice than fairness. God is a God of justice. HE MAKES WRONG THINGS RIGHT! But sometimes the road to God making something right is painful. It is full of temptation to DEMAND of God that HE PROVE HIMSELF.
Folks, hear me. Faith in God is the foundation of TRUST. Circumstances will come. Circumstances will go. But God is with us until the very end! Faith says, “God is in control! God is working things out for my good! I will trust in Him no matter the circumstance.” Faith says, “God has my back! I will walk in obedience knowing His faithfulness surrounds me.”
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