“Trust in God; trust also in me.” John 14:1
Twice in this chapter, Jesus gives the directive, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (verses 1 & 27). The second time he adds, “And do not be afraid.” Jesus gives us the responsibility of not allowing our hearts to be troubled or afraid. However, he doesn’t leave us floundering he tells us how, “trust me.” Sounds simple enough but we soon find it’s easier to be troubled than to trust.
When we trust in God, we aren’t trusting God to remove all our difficulties. Rather we are trusting him to be our sustainer in the difficulties. We are trusting God to give us the wisdom and guidance to know what to do in any situation believing he is in control of all our circumstances.
There’s a famous scene from the C.S. Lewis’ book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe where Mr Beaver is talking about Aslan, the lion who represents God. Lucy is a bit concerned about meeting a lion and asks if he is “quite safe”. Mr Beaver responds, “Safe? Safe? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.”
We would like God to rescue us from our troubles but God hasn’t promised us a life of safety. He has promised us his presence, his grace and his wisdom. He has also promised never to leave us or forsake us and that is enough.
We trust God, not because he is safe or promises us a life of ease but because he is good. We trust in the character of God, knowing an all-good God will enable and empower us to cope with whatever comes our way.
