Relaxing Into Trust
January 10, 2019
Choose to See the I AM
January 24, 2019
Last week we saw that what really matters in this upside-down world is that we trust Jesus—we trust him for our salvation, and we trust him in the details of our day-to-day lives.
“The only thing that counts is faith (trust), expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:6, ‘trust’ added)
If you actually did act and you actually did live trusting your Heavenly Father—in the details—, would you not be more relaxed? Does this describe you? Relaxed? Living with a calm, relaxed pace? Perhaps on a really good day. Perhaps not on most days?
Now that we know what really matters to Jesus, how in this crazy culture do we maintain our trust?
Focus.
We must focus on Jesus, and his constant presence in our lives … in the details of our lives. When I read the scriptures, I see a multitude of statements such as, “and God caused,” and, “God made,” and, “God was with them.” And my favorite: “But God.”
But God.
Life is swirling out of control? But God. The contract fell through: And God. The IRS called, your child is off the rails, the doctor called, your spouse’s lawyer called—and God. But God.
I have decided to live my life in an “And God, but God” world. In essence, a God-saturated world. My personal application is to choose to see Him in all my details. All of them.
Recently I was in the park with our dogs, letting them run around and have a big time. I had already used my supply of two poop bags a piece for each of them. (Who is the master and who is the servant in that picture?) As I followed Gus, I came across a discarded, unused poop bag, and my first thought was frustration at people leaving trash around.
But I decided to apply my new “And God, but God” focus, and lo and behold, a minute later Gus required another bag. I’m sure it was a mere coincidence that I had just found a bag lying around, but I made the choice—and it is a choice, isn’t it?—to thank Jesus. A silly thing, I know.
Two days later I received Sports Illustrated featuring Clemson’s national championship on the cover. It was to my address, but to someone who has never lived at my address. I would have wanted a copy of this issue, but would never have remembered or taken the time to go somewhere to buy one.
So I decided to apply my “And God, But God” focus, and thanked Him for this little gift. Another silly thing. Probably just another coincidence, and I understand this sounds silly and naïve to many of you, but here is my question to you:
What is the harm in this focus? The downside is I may give credit to Jesus when he wasn’t actually involved. That is, if he ever isn’t. Did the Savior of the world supply a poop bag and a magazine? Sounds ridiculous, I know. But the upside is my life becomes focused on Jesus, in the details, throughout the day. And therefore, I can … relax.
That, my friend, is a huge upside.
One last thought: If I choose not to practice this focus on Jesus in the details, I will undoubtedly, unwittingly choose to focus on … me. And that is a huge downside.
Note to all who read Oswald Chambers daily devotion “My Utmost for His Highest:” We have put together a podcast of 3-minute summaries of each daily devotion.
If you go to “Understanding Oswald” in Podcasts you can sign up for it.
It is also on our 721ministries.org website.
