Trusting in the Unseen
Gosh ... who would have thought that it was 4 years ago since the 9/11 disaster struck the world and gripped us all in fear and terror as our world was plunged into further darkness ... I still remember that dark day ... my heart goes out to those who still live in the nightmare of pain and grief that resulted from such terror ... God Bless you ...
One of my favourite passages from the Bible is located in Hebrews 11:1 which says ...
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
To me, that statement alone alludes to more than just faith ... it practically shouts the word "TRUST" ... we have to TRUST in what we hope for and BE certain of what we do not see.
Recently, I have had a very unpleasant experience on ebay which really led me to question the level of TRUST that I value and place in things and in people. Without going in to all the details, the reality of the situation was that I did not know the person on the other end of this transaction ("the Seller") and when things did not go according to normal rules of buying and selling, then my level of trust in the integrity, honesty and authenticity of this Selller went right out the window. You see, I started with a level of trust when I entered into the transaction, believing, perhaps naively as I was a first time ebay user, that the Seller on the other end would be someone who I could trust to honour the transaction. I was trusting in the "unseen" and was sure in what I hoped for, which was that I would receive the goods that I had anticipated buying ... and subsequently been certain of the Seller's authenticity.
However, it was only when PAYPAL, the finance website through whom I was going to pay for the transaction, prohibited the transaction from continuing and then warned me about it, that I then lost complete trust in that Seller and subsequently, I cancelled the transaction, much to the annoyance of the Seller. I was not aware of why PAYPAL would not authorise the transaction because for privacy reasons, PAYPAL were unable to provide me with this information. I then had to place my trust in PAYPAL who were my "Protectors" and have faith that their warning message was accurate, authentic and real. You see, although the Seller was unseen, I had placed my trust in him for this transaction to be successful ... unfortunately, the Seller continues to pursue the matter and still believes that despite all the issues, the transaction will be completed. However, from my perspective, the moment that PAYPAL notified me that there was a problem with that Seller, the transaction became null and void because I could no longer maintain my original level of trust in the Seller and therefore, I was uncertain of what I did not see and the transactional relationship was jeopardised and compromised.
This led me to think about what I have learned from this situation in relation to understanding things from a Godly perspective and this is how I see it ... we are in the world and every day, we interact with the world and we are tempted to participate and become involved in things and/or with people of the world. These things or people can sometimes be potentially harmful to ourselves and can even have very serious consequences ... relationships with people that are wrong for us, interactions with Satan's deceivers which lead us to dishonour not only ourselves, but also dishonour our Heavenly Father ... small sins that don't seem to affect anyone except us or big sins that affect us and others around us ... whatever the case, it is all SIN and it hurts God. The "Seller" in the spiritual realm is Satan ... he tries to sell us the "good life" and make tantalising offers to entice us, to draw us in to trusting in him ... and then, if we do, we inevitably find ourselves in trouble and strife and Satan is no where to be seen because he has not honoured our naive trust that he would deliver on his (empty) promises.
But thankfully, God is like PAYPAL ... God is our Protector and our Guide and He delivers on all his promises and his "compassions never fail, they are new every morning". God stepped in and offered us, not only forgiveness for our past sins, but also protection from our future sin(s) and he did this through the blood of his son, Jesus, which was the ultimate sacrafice so that we might be warned against the evil corruption in this world and participate in the divine nature. 2 Peter 1 : 3-4 tells us that:
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
God is faithful and we can invest our utmost TRUST in him because he cannot be unfaithful to himself and his promises are good ... they are promises that we can hold on to, that we can look to for guidance, comfort and peace. How wonderful our God is - He wants to prosper us and he wants to teach us about his goodness, his wisdom, his truth so that we may escape the corruption of the Deceiver, Satan and his followers, who so easily can mislead us! I know that I can put my trust in God with all my heart and in all things, I acknowledge him because in this way, according to his Word, the Bible, he will make my paths straight ... I can be sure of what I hope for and certain of what I do not see because God has shown me his love and his faithfulness is abundantly clear ... all he asks is that I give him my love, faith, hope and trust!
So ... who are you trusting in today? Do you have assurance of eternal life with the most trustworthy, faithful and loving God of the Universe? If not ... I challenge you to think about where you are placing your trust ... in mortal men or women? ... in possessions and material wealth? ... in tangible things of this world which will not go with you in death? ... I urge you to reconsider and put your trust and faith in God because with God, all things are possible and with God, eternity is eternity ... forever in heaven!
May God's faithfulness be your rock tonight! May God's protector and Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, guide you and protect you wherever you may be reading this note from me!
God Bless!
One of my favourite passages from the Bible is located in Hebrews 11:1 which says ...
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
To me, that statement alone alludes to more than just faith ... it practically shouts the word "TRUST" ... we have to TRUST in what we hope for and BE certain of what we do not see.
Recently, I have had a very unpleasant experience on ebay which really led me to question the level of TRUST that I value and place in things and in people. Without going in to all the details, the reality of the situation was that I did not know the person on the other end of this transaction ("the Seller") and when things did not go according to normal rules of buying and selling, then my level of trust in the integrity, honesty and authenticity of this Selller went right out the window. You see, I started with a level of trust when I entered into the transaction, believing, perhaps naively as I was a first time ebay user, that the Seller on the other end would be someone who I could trust to honour the transaction. I was trusting in the "unseen" and was sure in what I hoped for, which was that I would receive the goods that I had anticipated buying ... and subsequently been certain of the Seller's authenticity.
However, it was only when PAYPAL, the finance website through whom I was going to pay for the transaction, prohibited the transaction from continuing and then warned me about it, that I then lost complete trust in that Seller and subsequently, I cancelled the transaction, much to the annoyance of the Seller. I was not aware of why PAYPAL would not authorise the transaction because for privacy reasons, PAYPAL were unable to provide me with this information. I then had to place my trust in PAYPAL who were my "Protectors" and have faith that their warning message was accurate, authentic and real. You see, although the Seller was unseen, I had placed my trust in him for this transaction to be successful ... unfortunately, the Seller continues to pursue the matter and still believes that despite all the issues, the transaction will be completed. However, from my perspective, the moment that PAYPAL notified me that there was a problem with that Seller, the transaction became null and void because I could no longer maintain my original level of trust in the Seller and therefore, I was uncertain of what I did not see and the transactional relationship was jeopardised and compromised.
This led me to think about what I have learned from this situation in relation to understanding things from a Godly perspective and this is how I see it ... we are in the world and every day, we interact with the world and we are tempted to participate and become involved in things and/or with people of the world. These things or people can sometimes be potentially harmful to ourselves and can even have very serious consequences ... relationships with people that are wrong for us, interactions with Satan's deceivers which lead us to dishonour not only ourselves, but also dishonour our Heavenly Father ... small sins that don't seem to affect anyone except us or big sins that affect us and others around us ... whatever the case, it is all SIN and it hurts God. The "Seller" in the spiritual realm is Satan ... he tries to sell us the "good life" and make tantalising offers to entice us, to draw us in to trusting in him ... and then, if we do, we inevitably find ourselves in trouble and strife and Satan is no where to be seen because he has not honoured our naive trust that he would deliver on his (empty) promises.
But thankfully, God is like PAYPAL ... God is our Protector and our Guide and He delivers on all his promises and his "compassions never fail, they are new every morning". God stepped in and offered us, not only forgiveness for our past sins, but also protection from our future sin(s) and he did this through the blood of his son, Jesus, which was the ultimate sacrafice so that we might be warned against the evil corruption in this world and participate in the divine nature. 2 Peter 1 : 3-4 tells us that:
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
God is faithful and we can invest our utmost TRUST in him because he cannot be unfaithful to himself and his promises are good ... they are promises that we can hold on to, that we can look to for guidance, comfort and peace. How wonderful our God is - He wants to prosper us and he wants to teach us about his goodness, his wisdom, his truth so that we may escape the corruption of the Deceiver, Satan and his followers, who so easily can mislead us! I know that I can put my trust in God with all my heart and in all things, I acknowledge him because in this way, according to his Word, the Bible, he will make my paths straight ... I can be sure of what I hope for and certain of what I do not see because God has shown me his love and his faithfulness is abundantly clear ... all he asks is that I give him my love, faith, hope and trust!
So ... who are you trusting in today? Do you have assurance of eternal life with the most trustworthy, faithful and loving God of the Universe? If not ... I challenge you to think about where you are placing your trust ... in mortal men or women? ... in possessions and material wealth? ... in tangible things of this world which will not go with you in death? ... I urge you to reconsider and put your trust and faith in God because with God, all things are possible and with God, eternity is eternity ... forever in heaven!
May God's faithfulness be your rock tonight! May God's protector and Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, guide you and protect you wherever you may be reading this note from me!
God Bless!
posted by Vanoosh at
4:45 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home