Trust in the Lord

Background Scripture: Habakkuk 1-3
Lesson Scripture: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4, 20; 3:17-19

Introduction

The title of this lesson can be read two different ways. It can either be a verbal command to trust in the Lord, or it can be a statement that describes the state of being at rest in the Lord’s care and keeping. In an ever-changing world of unrest and trouble, everyone needs someone to trust. While some people are finding themselves tossed about in the wind and tempest, questioning God’s love and care for them, others are finding comfort in the hands of God, knowing that He holds the future and is fully in control. May this lesson renew our faith and trust in God and inspire us to do our best for Him.

Key Verse

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower (Ps. 18:2).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

The prophet Habakkuk witnessed the falling away of the glory of Israel. The Lord withdrew his grace and allowed them to take their own way. The prophet faithfully warned them, but it fell on deaf ears. Habakkuk cried to God and asked Him why He was allowing his people to sin. Righteous judgment was being subverted by partiality, allowing evil to prosper. Israel had turned their back on God and taken their own way; the way of debauchery, immorality, and deceit was well traveled. The prophet climbed into a watchtower to seek the Lord’s direction. The Scripture suggests that he went there and waited patiently for the Lord’s reply. The Lord began to speak, and Habakkuk realized that the Lord was very much involved behind the scenes. Although the Lord caused the ungodly nation of Babylon to destroy their land and take the people captive because of their wickedness, Habakkuk saw God’s care for his people and his plan of eventual deliverance from sin. The prophet praised and acknowledged the providence of the Lord and asked Him for mercy and grace. Babylon was eventually judged for its great wickedness, and God’s people returned to their home country and rebuilt it.

The story of life can be likened to the pages of a book. It is wonderful to consider that God knows the beginning and the end of the book as well as all the pages in between, when to us it may look confusing, as we experience it one page at a time. What a mighty God we serve!

Practical Truths for Today

The believer walks by faith in life and passes into eternity by faith—by the grace of God and confidence in Jesus Christ and not by his own ability. “Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6). We either have Christ, or we do not have Him, which means either trusting Him or not trusting Him. If we are going to make it through this life as a Christian, we must walk by faith and not by sight. God holds the answers to all the problems and difficulties we have in life. He will always make a way through them, though he may not answer all our questions or give us reasons why things happen the way they do. To be able to fully trust God is the result of receiving salvation by faith.

Reviewing the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness with their many trials and tribulations helps us understand some of what we go through in life. The Israelites faced hunger and thirst, fought with formidable foes, and occasionally found their journey come to an apparently abrupt dead end. In times of despair, the Israelites longed to be back in Egypt under the bondage of the taskmasters. We too, perhaps, go through trials when we wonder if God really cares or if He even exists. We wonder why our prayers are not answered in the way that we expected. We may wonder if Christian life is worth the fight. The way other Christians are living may also become a trial to us.

Jesus asked if He would find faith upon the earth when He returned (Luke 18:8). Will He find people that still love and trust Him when He comes back to judge the world? This soul-searching question challenges every Christian and causes us to flee to the Rock that is steadfast and secure. Faith lifts us above the questions we may have and finds us a resting place in the One whose ways are higher than our ways and whose thoughts far exceed our thoughts (Isa. 55:9). True faith wipes away the tears of frustration and worry and helps us cling to Jesus Christ as our Savior. True faith takes the form of the lady washing Jesus’s feet and drying them with her hair because of the love and the humility in her heart. In true faith we reach out beyond my own burdens and care about the burdens of others. With true faith we learn through experience that disappointment and even death are God’s way of reminding us that this earth is not our final home.

Do we ever wonder how a loving God allowed the terrible things that have happened in history and allows the things that are happening now? Devastating wars, pandemics of all kinds, famines and diseases that have taken countless lives, and incomprehensive cruelty perpetrated by evil men are all because of sin. Yet in the face of all the tragedies that have come upon humanity, God provides a way to go to heaven for all those who trust Him and believe the gospel. He allows men to do their evil deeds because He gives man the choice to either take his own way or to follow Him. He allows sickness and disease to overcome us despite our tears and prayers. Yet we know He sees and cares and will do what is best. We read in our lesson scripture, “The just shall live by his faith.” There are many testimonies of faithful Christians who faced severe trials and temptations in life but found refuge in trusting God to see them through. Many Christian martyrs died for their faith—they declared they were going to an eternal city.

A young child with brain cancer received a doctor’s terminal diagnoses, and though earnest prayer was made, believing the Lord could heal her, she was taken. Will some of heaven’s reward be to sit at the feet of Jesus to hear and understand why some things have happened like they did? In heaven the trust in God we had in life will be transformed into something beautiful and glorious. Only eternity will reveal what God has known all along, and we can be confident today “that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). We may not see God’s plan, but we can assuredly know his plan is best.

We live in a time when we are not necessarily mocked and derided for being a Christian, but many things around us attract our attention, taking it away from God. We are tempted to focus on temporal things, and through opportunity and enterprising initiative it is possible to do quite well financially. Affluence tends to make us self-sufficient and, through good management and material success, gives us a sense of accomplishment. This dampens the need for prayer, and business can take the place of worshipping God and having healthy fellowship with the saints. Drawn away and enticed by different lusts, we can become weak in faith, and then that which was settled becomes open to questions. These questions may involve fellow Christians, feeling that they should live and act better than they do. Questions may arise that cause one to draw back from the church brethren into an independent state, all the while feeling adrift and wondering where God is in the picture. Maybe our prayer life diminishes to the point where it is difficult to remember the last sincere prayer. This is a portrayal of someone whose heart is ripe for failure in Christian living, someone who has departed from true, trusting faith in God. What is the hope for someone in this state of mind? The key is to recognize our departure from God, repent, and again anchor our trust in the right place. We may need to go to our brethren and let them help us recover clear vision. God always makes a way for those who, with a humble heart, learn to trust Him. His ways are past finding out, and He is always willing to pick us up when we are willing to return.

Illustration

A storm with a likelihood of tornadoes was raging one night. A frightened little boy cried when his father pulled him from his bed and took him down into a dark and damp cellar and placed him on a pallet. He went to sleep, waking in the morning, feeling safe and secure. In the night while the little boy was crying and afraid, his father did not tell him about tornadoes and all the dangers surrounding these storms but rather just protected him.

Later, this boy’s father was killed in a farming accident, and the young boy would often ask God why he had taken his father from him. When he was grown the Lord called this young man to the ministry, and often God used his childhood experiences to shape him into a man whom God could use for his service. We often do not see God’s plan in the making, and in our finite minds we may even question God’s wisdom. The Lord is patient and carries us through the hard times if we trust Him. God will bless those who fully trust him.

Questions

1. In the face of misfortune or calamity, how do we encourage someone that God is just?
2. What are ways to inspire trust and faith in our children?
3. What happens to a Christian who tries to walk by sight and not by faith?
4. What are ways Satan uses to destroy our faith?
5. Unsubscribe

Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).