RSS Feed

Tag Archives: complete trust in God

Thinking Rather Than Trusting in God

In this age of social enlightenment, educators are redefining truth. This mentality has opened the door for progressive ideology and opinions to be elevated to fact status. Instead of trusting the Good Book, the Bible, many Christians have followed in the footsteps of Abraham and Isaac. When each were challenged by severe famines, each chose to think creatively rather than place their complete trust in God.

And the men of the place asked him about his wife, and he said, She is my sister; for he was afraid to say, She is my wife—[thinking], Lest the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah, because she is attractive and is beautiful to look upon. When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac and said, See here, she is certainly your wife! How did you [dare] say to me, She is my sister? And Isaac said to him, Because I thought, Lest I die on account of her. 10 And Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us? One of the men might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt and sin upon us, Genesis 26:7-10.

As someone who lost a losing battle with stuttering for the first two decades of my life, I became good at thinking about conversations and imagining various scenarios. Unfortunately, deep down, I developed the ungodly belief that I would never be able to truly express the feelings in my heart and the thoughts in my mind. Thanks to books like Restoring the Foundations by Chester and Becky Kylstra, I slowly began to trust God.

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil, Proverbs 3:5-7.

Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of the first verses in the Bible that I memorized. However, being able to recall a passage word for word from the Bible isn’t the same as putting it into practice. Matthew 7:24-27 is one of the most powerful messages recorded in the Bible. Thinking is more of theory whereas trust is an act of faith. To those who are able let go and take God at His Word, promises in the Bible, you’ll grow out thinking and move on to putting Jesus’ words into practice.

by Jay Mankus

Advertisement

Thriving in Adverse Conditions

The Landcare Research Center in New Zealand have recently made an interesting discovery.  According to Mark Smale and his survey team, several plants and vegetation living in the Taupo Volcanic Zone are thriving despite a soil temperature of 72 degrees Celsius.  In case you were wondering, that’s 161 degrees Fahrenheit.  The breaking point was found to be 80 degrees Celsius, where only thermophilic algae can survive.  This interesting find illustrates the fact that God has created living things can thrive in adverse conditions.

A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.  He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels, 1 Samuel 17:4-6.

If you enjoy watching sports, there are certain contests, games and matches that are clearly a mismatch.  In the early years of Israel, no Jewish soldier could match the size, strength and supreme confidence of the Philistine warrior.  Goliath stood just under ten feet tall and was protected by 156 pounds of armor.  Day after day Goliath challenged members of the Jewish army to a duel but everyone ran and hid in fear.  During a visit to the front lines to see his older brothers, David witnessed Goliath’s daily rant.  While the odds were against this frail six foot tall shepherd boy, David possessed a faith which thrived under extreme circumstances.

David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?  Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” – 1 Samuel 17:26
Today, the phrase David verse Goliath is over used and often taken out of context.  Faith without action is dead.  Victory is achieved through complete trust in the God given talents that you possess.  It doesn’t matter what others believe as long as you or your team know winning is possible.  If God has the power to create the heavens and the earth, why don’t more individuals turn to the Lord when facing adverse conditions.  The only thing missing in the lives of many individuals is a faith that thrives in adverse conditions.
by Jay Mankus

 

%d bloggers like this: