Day 32

Gospel Life Is A Life of

Abandoned Trust In God

Roger and Eileen Himes

www.ThePracticalGospel.com

The bottom line of Day 31 is trust — reckless, abandoned trust in a Father who loves us more than we can every possibly being to imagine. Trust is born in faith and belief: “Repent and believe the gospel.” Without faith it is impossible to please God. Our job is belief. If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you can move mountains.

But our faith and belief in God are elementary. In Hebrews 6:1, Paul says, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.”

What gospel belief and faith produces in us can be seen as a total abandoned, spiritually reckless TRUST in God. I think this is what Paul is getting at in I Timothy 1:12: “I know WHOM I have believed.” Our gospel TRUST in our loving Abba Father goes beyond simple faith. It is an absolute trust that is so founded in God’s love for us that there is just no other way to live. Seeing the sovereignty of God in the gospel, working in conjunction with our free will, produces TRUST in us.

From the cross Jesus declared, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” I don’t think this is the only time Jesus said this. I think he said every single day of his earthly life. I know I do many days. It’s not a ritual with me, because I try not to allow anything in my life become a religious ritual. But very regularly I declare, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” This is practical trust.

Self-focus, self righteousness, and living in ‘the kingdom of self’ is what produces wrong perceptions and distrust. Here we must define everything spiritual in terms of worldly things: answered prayer, healing, marriage restoration, prosperity, etc. But Paul cautions us not to be conformed to these worldly things (Rom 12:2). In First Corinthians 2 he tells us not to mix spiritual things with natural, earthly things. These things short-circuit practical trust in the PERSON of God.

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GOSPEL TRUTH #63

The terms faith, belief and trust are often used interchangeably. But in the Bible, and in older dictionaries especially, I perceive a difference between these. Faith and belief are focused on something. That something can be God himself, or his gospel. It is a conviction or an acceptance that something is true. In the New Testament I see our faith and belief is meant to be in our righteousness in Christ.

Trust is more personal. It is in someone, not something. It is a child’s trust in his parents, and our trust in the person of God himself — in Abba Father. Trust is confidence in the reliability, character and integrity of someone. Thus belief and faith might be said to be more objective, while trust is more subjective in nature.

Objective faith and belief produces subjective trust in God. Our trust in God’s word, in his imparted righteousness, and in his love for us, produces an intimate connection with our loving Father that goes deeper than anything we believe, or have faith in.

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Trust tells us there is nothing we can do to increase or decrease God’s love for us. His love is based on his Son, not on us. When this becomes revelation light, we begin to truly live in the Zoë life of God: rooted and grounded in his agape love.

Job said, “Even though he slay me, yet will I trust him.” This is real trust. This is the trust Isaac had in his father Abraham when he was going to sacrifice him. Paul says faith works through love. Our faith in the things of God actually become even stronger the more we know his love for us. It’s a continual cycle that just gets stronger and stronger — love produces more trust, and more trust reveals more love. It’s a never ending cycle.

It all begins with accepting gospel truth in total trust in the finished work of the cross. This produces the love of God in us: you love because you are first loved. It is God’s love for us that nailed Jesus to the cross. Isn’t that a love we can trust? Accepting this, trust and love continue to grow and grow and grow and grow. There is no end.

We saw earlier how this produces a gratitude in us that produces a life of worship. It has nothing to do with objective events in our lives. It has everything to do with a subjective experience of love and trust. As Paul says, it evolves out of knowing WHOM we believe. Thus James says, “Count it all joy.” If good things happen, and life goes according to your plans, your response is worship. But if bad things happen, and life dumps on you, your response should still be worship.

A gospel life is not based on certainties. All of life is tenuous and uncertain. God loves trials. Trust does not grow in certainties. In times of certainty, trust is not needed. We love safety and security, but they are only found in the arms of God — not in the world. Trust is born in uncertainties. If your mental computer will not compute what is going on around you, search for one thing only: trust.

Let’s now look at many different facets of trust. Do you find these elements of trust in your life? If not, then cultivate them in your relationship with our loving Abba Father.

Trust knows Father’s heart when it can’t see or understand things.

Trust knows God is near, even when he cannot be felt.

Trust knows Zoë life, even in disillusionment and despair.

Trust receives God’s grace, even during a sermon on sin.

Trust knows you are righteous, even if you feel very unrighteous.

Trust allows the Holy Spirit to show you that you are the glory of God, — even when you feel very unworthy, ugly, or worthless.

Trust is thanking God for forgiveness, even when you do wrong.

Trust is living in the Kingdom of God, even when the world screams for attention. Trust is only seeking God’s honor, not the world’s honor, or even the honor of your spouse or friend.

Trust is hugging the cross, and holding on to the gospel, even when 10,000 instructors in Christ tell you to do something more. This is ’SPIRITUAL WARFARE’ in its finest hour.

Trust is not being afraid to admit you are wrong. The gospel is what gives us the confidence to admit we are wrong, because spiritual life is more about WHOM you believe that WHAT you believe.

Trust is not being afraid to be childlike, fun and even humorous, when everyone around you is striving for spiritual perfection.

Trust is NOT needing the support of others before you believe what you believe.

Trust is knowing God is all over you, hugging you and kissing you, like the Father did his prodigal son. This is true even though you know God just created a new star 250 trillion miles from earth — that you’ll never understand.

Trust is being willing to turn the radio or television off — or even your pastor — and just listen for God’s voice.

Trust is not insisting on being happy.

Trust is experiencing God in sorrow, suffering, hurt and grief.

Trust is not giving up even when you feel spiritually bankrupt.

Trust is knowing and submitting to God’s gospel truth, rather than to some principle or formula that you can better understand.

Trust is knowing God must give you the faith it takes to believe.

Trust is knowing it takes God’s divine love IN you to generate his love FROM you.

Trust is just showing up, and connecting with Father, even if you do not know where he will take you or what he will require of you.

Trust is accepting the fact that you are accepted by God, even if you don’t feel acceptable. It is receiving God’s forgiveness, even when you know you don’t deserve it.

Trust is acknowledging God in your doubts. It is calling him ABBA FATHER, even if you’re not even sure there is a GOD.

Trust is giving love and compassion, even though this is the exact thing you need yourself.

Trust grows when you feel like a grasshopper in a swarm of locusts.

Trust is clinging to Father’s hand, even when you are not even sure he is answering your prayers — or even hearing them.

Trust is believing Jesus when he says his way is easy, — especially when you feel like life is really a complicated, difficult uncertain mess.

Trust is knowing that the only way to fail in prayer is not to pray.

Trust is committing your life to God. Jesus said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Praying this every day makes life much more complete.

Trust is praying Mary’s prayer: “Be it done unto me according to your word.” It is knowing that God will cause all things to work together for good in your life, even when nothing looks good. Or at least it is trusting things will work out better than they would have otherwise.

Trust is being still, knowing that God is God. It is knowing he is all seeing, all caring, and all loving.

Trust is knowing that trust is more than just being passive. It is knowing trust is active... engaging... vital... alive... striving.

Trust is singing the song you came to sing, even if you forget the melody, and the words, and don’t really feel like singing.

Trust is believing the gospel as ultimate reality, rather than your mind and feelings. Trust is defending it and proclaiming it, even when things around you seem to be devoid of gospel truth.

Trust is knowing that all you have to offer, that is worth anything at all, is God’s presence in you. Everything else is flesh… dead works.

Trust is simply… trust. It is simply born in knowing God …relating to your Father …connecting with your Dad. It is hearing his voice, “Come to Papa” (the Jewish phrase), regardless of what’s going on in your life.

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GOSPEL TRUTH #64

Trust is simply knowing him. It is knowing the longing of God’s heart is for us to know him just like a loving, dependent CHILD relates to his Daddy — yet also as mature SONS AND DAUGHTERS know and respect their Father. The whole gospel is about relationship. It is about us being a family, and becoming fathers of the gospel to minister to each other. To Father, trust is simply seen as us helping and loving each other, depending on him to express himself through us. It is us showing his image and glory in us to a lost world and to his children.

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