The Trustworthiness of God

 In a world of suffering, can it be said that God is trustworthy? Every day 1,700 people will die in the U.S. of cancer. Many, if not most of those people, either prayed for healing or someone who knew them prayed for healing. Still 1,700 die. Millions are diagnosed with Alzheimer's each year. It is a very cruel disease. 116,022 people died of this disease in 2024. Prayers were offered and thousands upon thousands died. 

There are people starving and living below the poverty line in the U.S. 36 million to be exact. Add to that another 17 million living in deep poverty. How many pray for provision. Pray for the next meal. They plead with God to help and yet children cry themselves to sleep in hunger pangs. Like a man once told me, "Sometimes I just have to eat sleep." 

In all of that suffering, can it be said that God is trustworthy? O, I know that is easy to say. Can it be defended to those hurting and hopeless? That is the point. I know God's word declares that He is faithful in [I Thess 5:24]. The word faithful in that passage can be translated trustworthy also. Is that true? 

I admit approaching this topic with bias. I'm a preacher and author constantly pointing people to God and His word. Would I still believe God is trustworthy if I did not write religious material or did not preach? Many think my views are slanted because that is my job. Not so. I decided long ago to set out to prove the Bible true by living by faith and standing on the promises of God. It has not been an easy road. It has been an adventurous one. If it weren't true, if God was not trustworthy I would have walked away. He has proven Himself trustworthy to me and my family. 

I do believe God is trustworthy. Here are my reasons why:

1. I believe the stories in scripture and the promises are true. [II Tim 3:16]

2. I have tested scripture promises in the laboratory of life and found God  trustworthy repeatedly. 

3.I've read biographical and autobiographical accounts where others testified of God's trustworthiness in their lives and ministries. 

4. I have ministered to people in intense sufferings. Some were facing death due to incurable disease. I have witnessed many of those people face their suffering and death valiantly and triumphantly. They found something mor substantive in God than earthly comfort. People battling incurable diseases facing impending death hang onto something real. They found God real. They found Him trustworthy. I tend to listen to them and put great stock in their witness. 

Let's get real. There is a lot of suffering people in the world. Where is God? Why doesn't He fix it? Tap the brakes. This is not the plan God had originally. Go back to Genesis. God created a perfect world. Adam and Eve opted for temptation and ate the forbidden fruit. The consequences of that act has followed us to this day. You hate cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and all the others. Don't blame God. He didn't choose this for us. We chose sin. I say we chose it because we are still choosing it. The curse of sin brought along with it suffering and death. 

Even with that in mind, God is trustworthy in that He sent Jesus to take the punishment for people's sin. It is totally illogical. Perfection suffering for imperfection. Sinlessness dying for sinners. This world of suffering is the best heaven people who do not follow Jesus will ever experience. On the other hand, this world is the worst hell Christians will ever experience. For anyone who repents of their sins and asks Jesus for deliverance and rescue, everlasting life awaits. God will prove Himself trustworthy as we are ushered into eternity. 

I don't always understand the ways of God. [Is 55:8-9] I have learned to trust Him over and over again. Even in the hard times and the confusing times. He has come through time and time again. Even when I stood at the graveside of my mother in 1998 the day after Mother's Day and years later Brenda's mother. I put His trumpet to my mouth to sound forth the anthem that God can be trusted. 

People Matter

 I met a lady who worked as a janitor at a private school. She told me she was one of the invisible people who worked for the school. Her comment made me think she did not feel valued by her employers. I learned a valuable lesson that day. I want to value people. No matter their background. No matter their economic status or social standing. People are created in the image of God and have intrinsic value based on that truth. 

People matter. The waitress and the waiter matter. The student and the surgeon matter. The mechanic and the machinist matter. The cook and the computer analyst matter. People working at the drive through have value. The elderly have value. So many churches use the older members of the congregation for their money, but are discarded much of the other times. People matter. It matters how we treat people. 

Read accounts of how Jesus treated people. He touched the leper in Matt 8:1-3 that others shunned. He helped the woman with blood issues in Mark 5:25-34 that others kept at arm's length so as not to be considered ceremonially unclean. Jesus helped demon possessed Mark 5:1-20, crippled, paralyzed , blind, and even ate with sinners. Jesus made time for children and was not annoyed by their appearance. Jesus loves the outcasts. He welcomes the addicts. He accepts the immoral. He calls them to repentance and to turn to Him for salvation. Jesus even said the sick need a physician and not those that are well. Sinners need a Savior. Jesus loves people and they matter to Him. Therefore, they should also matter to the church. 

Churches can fall into the trap of just counting nickels and noses. People matter far beyond what they contribute in the offerings and adding to attendance figures. God created them with purpose. People created in the image of God with eternal souls. Many of those souls are lost and far from God. We should not be surprised when sinners act like sinners. We should applaud their courage when the muster enough to walk into one of our worship services or studies. They should be welcomed and loved to Jesus. 

People can get reputations. Some of them are bad. The only thing faster than track teams is small town gossip. People pile on when others fail and are down. Instead of pulling them up. We can push them further down. A recent survey reported that 70% of people are open to Jesus and have a favorable opinion of Him, but only 30% feel the same way about the church. This is a travesty. People matter to God and they should matter to the church also. They should matter to each of us. 

There are no invisible people with Jesus. He sees us all. There are no insignificant people with Jesus either. He loved people enough to die for them. See John 3:16 and Romans 5:8. People matter to God. We matter to God. You matter to God wherever you find yourself in life.

Delay or Denial

It has been said that God always answers prayers. He may not answer them the way we want Him to. Sometimes He says yes and gives us what we asked for. There are other times when the answer is no. Additionally there are other times when He says wait. We love it when He says yes. We are disappointed when He says no. When the answer is delayed we get disillusioned. 

How are we supposed to know the difference when God is delaying the answer for His purposes or when He denies our requests? We may not like it, but most of us know there are some things God is going to deny. It is not in His will for us. I love [I Jn 5:14-15] where we are assured if we pray in God's will we will get what we ask. Knowing what God wills it not always easy to discern. There are some things God is going to deny no matter how hard we pray. Like me playing in the NFL. I did ask God for that as a child. God denied it because His plan was for me pastor and preach. 

Recently, I resolved to only pray for what I felt assured was in God's will. I focused on asking God for what He desired to do in and around my life. It surprised me how my prayer list whittled down to very few things. We all have wants. We ask God for what we desire. We are not guaranteed to get all our desires. We will be denied many if not most of those things. That doesn't mean God is unkind, uncaring, or uninterested in the affairs of our lives. It means God knows what is best. That is hard to believe when God doesn't heal the loved one, when the prodigal continues a life of profligate living, and the finances dwindle until there is nothing left because the answer was delayed. 

God knows what He is doing. He certainly does not need my finite mind to help Him govern the universe. He also knows what is best. Past experience reminds me that I have fouled things up by making wrong decisions. He knows best and I am learning to trust Him even when I can't see the full outcome. He is also on time. Think about it. Has God ever been late for anything? His timing is perfect. 

If His timing is perfect, then His delays have purpose. Abraham and Sarah did not like waiting for a son of their own. They took matters into their own hands when Abraham married a servant girl and had Ishmael with her. That was not God's intended plan. Abraham and Sarah waited on their promised son for two and a half decades. They clung to faith and hope. In due time, at the proper time, and at the right time Sarah conceived and months later gave birth to Isaac. 

There are other instances in the Bible when God's timing proved perfect. Joseph from the book of Genesis felt forgotten sitting in a prison. His brothers sold him as a slave. His boss's wife falsely accused him of sexual assault when she was the aggressor. At the right time, Pharaoh had two dreams nobody could interpret. His cupbearer, who was incarcerated with Joseph for a short time, remembered Joseph interpreted a dream for him in prison. Joseph was brought to Pharaoh and prayerfully interpreted his dreams about coming abundance followed by years of famine. Joseph was promoted from prison to the palace in a day. Joseph was elevated to second in command over all Egypt. Later, he realized that God sent him to Egypt as a slave, prisoner, and leader to preserve the beginnings of the nation of Israel. God's timing proved perfect. 

If your prayers are getting denied, I challenge you to live out [Ps 37:4]. Fulfill the conditions on the front end and you will reap the reward on the backend. Start seeking what God wills to be done and pray [I Jn 5:14-15] with confidence. If we focus on praying what God wills to be done, we can be assured we will see less prayers denied. 

I exhort you to read [Luke 18:1] and learn to pray with perseverance when God delays the answers in coming.  Press on. Pray on. Don't lose heart. Trust that He will answer at just the right time when He has arranged all the circumstances and when He gets the most glory. Then, we get to brag on what God did. That in turn will encourage and inspire others to keep trusting and to keep praying while prayers are being delayed. 

A Dangerous Trend

Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence is here and it is here to stay. Many praise the benefits. Others warn of the impending dangers. A.I. is a present reality that is already impacting our world. Coupled with the sobering truth that Gen Alpha, those born in 2010 and afterward, is considered the most anxious generation to ever live. One of the ways many of those students are coping with anxiety is by turning to A.I. for personal support. 1:4 Gen Alphas say that A.I. knows and understands them better than any person. 

A.I. is not a person. It is a thing. If not checked, A.I. could even become a substitute for God. A.I. is rewriting the Bible. I have zero confidence in the inerrancy and infallibility of that finished document. Not in a world who claim God does not exist. Not in a world who rewrite laws God established long ago. Not in a world that values most things God opposes. 

One report said as high as 72% of Alpha students turn to A.I. for personal support. It is easy to type in your question and get an instant response even if it is wrong. Believe me when I write A.I. is no match for God. Let God download all His understanding and the hard drives would crash and burn. God's understanding is unmatched. His power unequaled. 

When Gen Alpha, who have been hurt and had trust broken, was asked what they wanted people to know about them, their answer was simple. They list very high on what they want from adults is for them to listen without judging. As we get older, judging comes easier. We complain about the music being too loud, hair being too long on boys, too short on girls, that they are glued to their cell phones, are lazy, and that they are unfaithful to church. Tap the brakes. 

The church that was supposed to protect them and nurture them has been one of the institutions that has hurt many of them. One sex abuse scandal after another has broken the trust of these students. These students have been criticized, ostracized, and marginalized by many congregations. They are labeled as the anxious generation. No generation before them has faced greater mental health challenges as they do. Especially the girls. Some dismiss the whole idea of mental health even being an issue people struggle with. Such naysayers adopt the attitude of, "Suck it up buttercup." I confess that has been my attitude by and large. I need the attitude Jesus had toward people.

It is interesting that Gen Alpha is open to Jesus but distrusting of the church. Christians are supposed to be representatives of Jesus Christ. Yet, it is us Christians that give the church a bad name. We violate that sacred trust when we have morale failures in leadership. We mismanage that trust when we look down our pious noses in disgust at a generation of students far different that we are. 

Jesus had compassion for people. Matt 9: 36 All kinds of people. He loved people others labeled unlovable. He embraced sinners that religious people shunned. He forgave the ones others condemned. He comforted people the religious leaders hurt. Christians must become more like Jesus if we ever hope to help the "anxious generation." 

Tracing God's Hand of Faithfulness

 Brenda and I sat in my office yesterday before the start of our connection classes. I perused my Bible and Brenda looked on her computer. Without warning we were hit with another trial that buckled us. We did not see it coming. It blindsided us. We sat stunned. We had a decision to make. Did we give into anxiety, fear, anger, or submit to peace, faith, hope, and endurance?

We chose to put it out of our minds and move on through the rest of the day. This morning I prayerfully chose to cast that care onto the Lord. I laid it at His feet. It is not the first time we have faced tests. I am sure it will not be the last time. 

Fast forward to this afternoon. I listened to the a podcast where I heard the phrase, "I traced God's hand of faithfulness." I wrote a book in 2008 titled, Behold the Faithfulness of God, all about the bountiful ways God has shown Himself faithful to Brenda and I. Not just the two of us, but for all of His people throughout history. Over and over again, sometimes at the last moment, God has shown Himself reliable. He has answered prayers in His timing and in His ways. It has not been the journey I would have chosen for myself as as freshman Bible student at Howard Payne University. It is the one God chose for us. 

God's journey for Brenda and I has been filled with unexpected turns. It is hard to write, and for many who will read this it will be harder to believe, I've carried a desire to serve one church for 20-30 years. The longest I served any church was six years. I don't understand why we have moved so much. I know at least one of those moves was a mistake on my part. I totally misread God's leading. I've repented and lived in regret for a long time. I realize my mistake hurt my family and many others close to us. For many years afterward it felt like I lived in a spiritual wilderness. I battled deep depression that plagued me for several years. Even in that God was faithful. One prayer time and one verse brought me out of that depression. God did not forsake me. 

God has been faithful to meet financial needs and material needs. God has provided things from vehicles to furniture. He sent financial provision at those crisis moments when all of our hard work and salaries could not meet the unexpected needs that arose. You have heard many of those stories. When we needed a vehicle for Brenda recently and prayed for over a year for a debt free vehicle, God provided one. A very nice top of the line 2013 Ford Edge. No debt. He worked again to provide a 2012 Nissan Armada that we gave to Tanner to replace his worn out car. He has done that nine times in our marriage. We ask Him to do it again. That is tracing God's hand of faithfulness. 

He has provided places for us to live. Our current home is no mansion, but it is the right home for us. I have asked God for well over a year to pay our house off early. We hate debt and have very little. Our home is the one exception. We have traced His hand of provision and faithfulness on two occasions in our past when someone paid our house payments one for a year and a half and the other for four years without us asking. Unbelievable. That is tracing the God's hand of faithfulness. It encourages faith and inspires hope. 

Our trial is still there. So is our God. What God has done in the past we trust He will do again in the present and in the future. I hope that you will do the same. Look back in your past and trace God's hand of faithfulness. He will be reliable in your present and future. He is trustworthy. He will come through in His time and in His way. 

Flex

 To flex means to bend and tighten a muscle. Most little boys, and even some older ones, stand before the bathroom mirror flexing their biceps hoping their muscles grow. When a person flexes their muscles they are tensing them. The point of this article is not about flexing muscles. As we age, muscles atrophy and weaken. 

I have a total other thought in my mind. It was a phrase I read in Mark Batterson's new book, Gradually Then Suddenly. Batterson wrote about flexing our imagination. Instead of looking at the obstacles we can flex our imagination to see the opportunities. Flexing our God inspired imagination can help us see potential, possibilities, and pathways to get there. 

The problem is that people who are overwhelmed with seemingly impossible situations do not have the energy to flex their imagination. They are focused on the hopeless situation in front of them instead of the God of hope who says nothing is too difficult for Him. Is that really true practically or is it only theory? 

Here is the question we must consider. What does God want done in our situation? If God wills something to be done, we can believe that He will make a way for that to happen. You might have to flex your imagination and think outside the box. 

Let me illustrate. Several years ago Brenda and I started a church. Our first Sunday we met in a daycare. The smell of dirty diapers mixes with cleaning solutions were pungent. On our first Sunday morning, we outgrew the daycare. We scrambled and secured the junior high school cafeteria for Sunday mornings. That space was not available to us for our Wednesday night activities. I prayed and flexed my imagination. We met with our students in the stands of the football stadium for Bible study. We got more than a few confused and amused looks when people walked on the track. We met in the stands until the weather turned too cold, and then we moved into our oldest high school gymnasium. Those things worked until we could rent facilities of our own. We eventually converted a warehouse with grease stained concrete floors into a sanctuary with enough seating for well over 200 people. The bay doors rattled when the wind blew during services. We had a/c and heat, but the place was drafty. It still worked.  II would never have considered building a stage and putting chairs in a warehouse producing a makeshift sanctuary. It worked.  never would have considered any of those options until God inspired and we flexed our imagination. 

If you are up against it, overwhelmed, filled with despair and have lost hope, I want to challenge you to do a couple of things. Take some time and get away. Batterson also talks about how changing our pace of life and changing our place can lead to some powerful God encounters. In other words, change your routine. Sit in a cafe with a journal to meet with God. Take a prayer walk. Go sit in a park. When you do that, pray with all your heart about how God wants you to handle your situation. Ask God to inspire and flex your imagination. Write down the ideas that come to you.  

Flex your imagination and consider what God can do for you. His resources are unlimited. Psalm 24:1 His power is unmatched and capable of doing anything. Jeremiah 32:17 His understanding is inscrutable. Isaiah 40:28 Go ahead and flex your imagination. You might just be surprised by the solution God gives you for your impossible situation. 

14 Times in 6 Chapters

 This morning I read in the book of Numbers. Not the most exciting Bible reading. A phrase kept coming up a total of fourteen times in six chapters. What was the phrase? "Then the LORD spoke to Moses." That struck me especially since the bulk of my prayer this morning was asking God to speak to me and listening. 

Prayer can be rushed with a list of requests without taking time to listen for what God wants to say to us. What He has to say to us is always more important than what we have to say to Him. How many really take time in prayer to listen? Some might ask how do you listen to an unseen God who rarely speaks audibly. You train your spirit to get in touch with His spirit. You must discipline the mind to be quiet before Him. I find this to be one of the most challenging aspects of listening. My mind often races like wild stallions across the prairie. Reigning in those thoughts is a battle. Satan uses his demons to plant thoughts in us to keep us distracted. The father of lies does not want us to quiet our minds to listen to God. With the weapons given us to fight these battles, we have to trust God to take our thoughts captive in obedience to Christ. [II Cor 10:3-5]

Do we really want to hear from God? He does not always speak uplifting devotional thoughts. He sometimes rebukes calling for repentance. He chastises when we are not compliant with His commands. He prophesies about future events. He calls us to assignments that require faith and courage. He guides us in decision making. He also reveals important truths that we do not know. 

My favorite part of seeking God is the listening. I never know what He might speak. This is the difference in religion and a relationship. The relationship consists of back and forth dialogue between followers and our supreme leader. There are times when God speaks something so important it changes our lives. 

He did that for me three years ago one morning reading Acts 16:9-10. Paul had a dream one night about a man from Macedonia calling him to come and help. That same passage showed up repeatedly that same week in several books I read. I knew God was speaking to me. A casual conversation over lunch days later confirmed it. I told Brenda that I sensed God was going to move us to a new church and I believed it was going to be in the Panhandle of Texas. Two years passed. One morning I received an email from pastor search committee in Fritch, TX telling me they received my resume. A friend sent my resume to them without my knowledge. I did not seek them or pursue a job with them. Based on the Acts 16:9-10 I agreed to a phone interview. For two years I believed there was a church crying out to God to send them help and that Brenda and I were the answer to that prayer. The last thing I told them during our phone interview that day was not to ever contact me again unless they were convinced I was God's man for them. I did not hear anything from them again for five months. After all that time they contacted me to inform I was their number one candidate. We had an in person interview and the rest is history. Brenda and my whole lives changed based on God speaking through one passage of scripture on a mundane morning. That is the thrill of seeking and following God. The same God who spoke to Moses also speaks to us. Are we listening? May He show us great and mighty things we do not know. Jer 33:3

Empty

 Have you ever run out of fuel in your vehicle leaving you stranded? It happened to me one time while riding with a friend. He ran out of gas and the engine stalled. The ironic thing is the guy was rich. He just neglected to stop long enough to refuel. We had to push his vehicle to the nearest gas station. Our cars and trucks have gauges to let us know when the fuel is running low. 

People don't have gauges to indicate they are running low of emotional, spiritual, and physical fuel. Many are living on empty. I'm not sure we could even call it living. People are going through the motions coasting on the fumes of past God encounters, and all the while they are empty, dry, and maintaining daily routines robotically. Empty people are often emotionally numb. Unable to feel deeply. 

This can happen as a result of burnout. It can be caused by repeated trials that eventually wear a person down. It can be the outcome of a life of trauma. No matter the cause, there are empty people walking all around us. People who appear to be alive on the outside, but they feel dead on the inside. Empty people are often hurting people. They may not even be able to express what is going on inside of them. They just know they are not right on the inside and in the mind. 

Well meaning believers may exhort them to read their Bible and to pray their way through the emptiness. The empty person may still do those things and still feel they do not benefit. What is a person to do when they feel empty? The enemy who only comes to steal, kill, and destroy [Jn 10:10] wants to isolate people in their emptiness. What they really need is someone to listen, someone to care, and someone who will not try to fix them. That is not our job. It is God's. 

Empty people need to reflect on activities that bring joy and refuel them. They may need to alter their routines to include these activities. Mark Batterson is an author and pastor and he writes that sometimes we need a change of pace and a change of place to get us back on track. Maybe a walk slowly taking in the scenery or take out a book to read for pleasure. Maybe lunch with a friend is a good medicine to refuel your spiritual, emotional, and spiritual tank. It may sound kind of silly, but it is amazing how a good nap can recharge our batteries and give us a fresh perspective. Empty people have little left to give. Refueled people are a tremendous help and blessing to those they encounter including empty people. 

My friend did not stop long enough to refuel his SUV all those years ago. It ended up costing him more in the long run. Maybe you to stop to do some refueling too before you are completely empty.