“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3: 5
I recently had the opportunity to go back to Milwaukee – where I once lived for 5 years – to visit some old friends, and rekindle some old memories.
During my visit I attended church service at my former church home. After the requisite preliminary church activities the Pastor stood up to deliver his sermon. But then something rather unusual happened.
Instead of the Pastor jumping into his message, he quietly called for the church lights to be dimmed down. About that time a large screen lowered in front of the church, and a video proceeded to play.
The video depicted two people; a young man portraying Jesus, and a young woman portraying a typical skeptic – like you and I. The man portraying Jesus asked the woman to trust him enough to face away from him, and then fall back into his arms. Obviously the woman was hesitant at first.
Then, after some gentle coaxing from `Jesus’, the woman finally relented and took the plunge. Back she fell into the waiting arms of the man, whose secure grasp gently protected her from harm.
The woman was first amazed, then confident that she could now trust `Jesus’. But`Jesus’ wanted to take her trust to a higher level. So the man challenged the woman to now face him. She quickly obliged, believing that `Jesus’ would now challenge her to fall forward into his waiting arms.
But that’s not what `Jesus’ instructed her to do. Instead `Jesus’ instructed her to fall backward again…..while still facing him!
The woman was flabbergasted. It was one thing for `Jesus’ to ask her to fall backward in faith…when she knew he was behind her to brace her fall. But how could Jesus possibly expect her to fall backward in faith…knowing that Jesus was not there? Mere logic, combined with her understanding of the basic laws of physics, would not allow the woman to engage in such foolish faith.
`Jesus’ continued to gently comfort the woman, assuring her that everything would be alright. But the woman was first unwavering, then utterly defiant, finally proclaiming “I CAN’T…..AND I WON’T!!”, as she turned and walked away. The scene then faded to black, rendering the church completely silent. Message sent: `We all limit our trust in Jesus.’ MESSAGE RECEIVED!
“I CAN’T…..AND I WON’T”
A few years ago my family and I went to visit a new local church in our neighborhood….to show our support and to appease our curiosity. After the service was over I went up and introduced myself to the Pastor. He was a relatively young guy, with an obvious passion for getting his new church off the ground, in accordance with his Godly calling.
Over time I developed a modest relationship with the young Pastor, occasionally meeting him for breakfast to trade our respective dreams and visions.
Then a few months later, near the end of the unusually harsh winter of 2014, I received an unexpected phone call as I was walking out of a local store with my wife.
“Hey David, did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No Pastor, how are you? Is everything alright?”
“Everything’s fine, but I wanted to speak to you about something. Do you have a minute?”
The Pastor proceeded to tell me how the church had been struggling financially, and how the issues had been exaggerated by the recent cold weather and heavy snow fall.
“The snow and cold weather has not only hurt our weekly attendance, and our monetary intake as a result, it has also created some enormous unity bills that we are now unable to pay. Yesterday we received word from the utility companies that our gas and electricity will be turned off this Friday. I have called a few people to ask for financial assistance, and so far no one has been able to help. Then I felt that the Lord was telling me to call you.”
I politely listened to what the Pastor had to say, knowing all the while that we were in no financial position to help. However, out of courtesy I thought I would ask the obvious question anyway.
“So, Pastor, just how much money do you need to get back in good standing with the utility companies?”
When the Pastor gave me the amount I almost dropped the phone! `Are you kidding me?’ I thought. `When did you last pay the bills….last Easter?’
I paused for a second, then calmly told the Pastor that I needed to talk it over with my wife. But that was only a ploy to buy time to figure out a polite way to say `there is no earthy way!’
There was a part of me that actually felt led to help the church. But the Pastor’s request couldn’t have come at a worse time…we were having financial challenges of our own.
The only source of funds we had was resting comfortably in our 401k account, drawing interest. But no one in their right mind taps their 401k for anything, short of a dire emergency. It’s a retirement fund, and there are steep penalties for early withdrawal. `I can’t…..and I won’t!’
The Pastor was clearly mistaken. Obviously God had given him the wrong name to call for financial assistance.
Once Marya and I got in the car, after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, I broke the ice.
“You’ll never guess who that was on the phone. It was the Pastor from the church down the street. And you’ll never guess what he wanted.”
As I laughingly gave Marya the monetary figure, I had no doubt that she was going to shoot straight through the sunroof of our car. After all, Marya is by far the more fiscally responsible of the two of us.
But as I blurted out the absurd dollar figure – bracing to be scolded for even having the audacity to verbalize the number – Marya just stared straight ahead for several seconds. Then suddenly, without warning, she spoke up.
“Then let’s just get it out of our 401k and give it to them.”
To say I was shocked would be the biggest understatement since Mary Todd Lincoln declared `I don’t think Abe enjoyed the play very much.’ I was floored!
In Proverbs 3:5 we’re encouraged to place our entire trust in the Lord, and not on our own knowledge and perspective. Why? Because our knowledge and perspective are very narrow and limited, while God’s promises and faithfulness are limitless.
Limiting our trust to only that which we can see and understand is akin to a belief that the entire universe consists only of the places we have actually physically visited during our lifetime. If we haven’t seen it, touched it, felt it, experienced it, then how could it possibly exist?
How absurd, right? Obviously the realities of our universe reside far beyond that which we have seen, touched, felt, and experienced. Our universe Is limitless. But so is God’s power to protect, shield, and prosper us.
We have no trouble acknowledging the majesty and splendor of the Swiss Alps, even if we’ve never set foot in Switzerland. No one ever questions the fact that Saturn orbits around the sun every 29 years – with its beautiful rings of ice – even though Saturn is 746 million miles beyond our view.
Yet, when the Lord of our lives – the creator of all we see, the provider of all we have, and the deliverer of all we will ever hope for – gently urges us to trust Him, we suddenly all become Missouri natives. `Show Me first!’
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A few months ago we returned to the new church in our neighborhood. The sanctuary was full and the Pastor delivered an inspiring message. Afterwards the Pastor greeted us warmly, as we gathered our things and headed for the door.
As we arrived to our car I took a minute to look back at the church, as multiple families continued to billow out of the door toward their respective cars. Obviously the church was long past the financial growing pains of 18 months prior, and was now thriving and prospering.
For just a few seconds I allowed myself to feel good about the small part that the Lord had allowed me to play in helping sustain this, His place of worship, so that others would eventually have a place to pray, worship, and fellowship.
The Lord chose me, urging me to trust Him. But I thought I couldn’t…and I knew I wouldn’t. After all, I couldn’t see Him behind me, waiting to brace my fall. But God had other plans. So I fell backward, just as the Lord instructed, knowing He wouldn’t be there to catch me.
Yet, He did…just as He always has. And He gives us all the Blessed Assurance that He always will.
So, go ahead, fall back. He’s there!
Suggested Reading:
The Case for Faith
by Lee Strobel
Was God telling the truth when he said, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”?
In his #1 bestseller The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel examined the claims of Christ, reaching the hard-won verdict that Jesus is God’s unique son. In The Case for Faith, Strobel turns his skills to the most persistent emotional objections to belief―the eight “heart barriers” to faith. BUY NOW