Tag Archives: We trust in the name of the Lord our God

Unto thee O Lord!

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Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. Psalm 25:1

Some versions say, “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.”

 

Where do you put your trust? The psalmist says “Some trust in chariots and some in horses but we trust in the name of our Lord our God. (Psalm 20:7) He trusts not just in the God who does things for Him but in who God is. He trust is in the name, not just the deeds of God.   God is the one whose nature is to protect us from evil. He is the one who wants to show you the path you should walk today. He longs to guide us with mercy and love in whatever situation we face. He wants you to know that you are not alone…ever. This is the God who gave His only Son for the forgiveness of your sins and mine, the one draws near to us when we are humble. He promises that, in Him, we will overcomers.

 

Should we want even more?!

 

We try to lift our souls to others but try as they might, they can’t fully understand our deepest dilemmas. Only God has the power to release us from that which ensnares us. Sometimes He miraculously does this physically; always He offers supernatural grace and strength to persevere when we are sure we have no strength left.  This is the God who comforts the lonely and afflicted, the one who wants to free us from the anguish of our troubled heart.

 

Can you find anyone else so trustworthy?

 

Though the psalmist asks for numerous physical helps, he ultimately trusts God to maintain his integrity, to not let his name to  be put to shame. God is the one who knows when we sit and when we rise. He knows every hair on our head. This God in whom we trust calls us by name. He knows we will have trouble in this fallen world. But He longs for and empowers us to live the name of good and faithful servant, to live with integrity through the battles, to stand firm.

 

Can you imagine coming to the end of your life, having everything you wanted but lacking integrity?

 

We could trust in and align our soul with so many things: our talents and abilities, our fortunes, our jobs, our family and friends, our health, our retirement.  We could put our hope in stability and comfort. But we live in an unstable world, filled – as Jesus promised – with trouble.   We have to put our hope in the only One who has overcome the world.  (John 16:33)

 

In such a turbulent world, filled with sorrow and woe, where do you rest your weary soul?  In whom will you trust?

 

 

Faith and Numbers

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One of the things I have noticed about myself in this walk with Leukemia is how much I pay attention to my daily numbers. (I know, some of you who know how God wired me are saying, “Duh!”) Everyday, at 4:00 a.m., the nurses draw my blood and every morning the doctor stops by to check on me and review how my blood counts are going. These counts determine whether I need more transfusions or not. They indicate how the chemo is doing destroying my blood cells (good and bad), and how my body is doing at producing new (hopefully just good) blood cells. (They also tell me when I get to go home!) There is nothing wrong with being aware of the daily numbers or the statistics about the difficulty of this battle. But the tendency to use these to predict how well I will do, or when I will get better is sometimes strong…even if ultimately of little value. It is a classic case of a personal strength actually at times becoming a weakness. As Steve Rabedeaux keenly reminded me, medical statistics are pretty insignificant compared with the plan of God.

We know that God wants us to trust Him and we should know that His plan is immensely wiser than ours. But as nurse Marci said in a conversation about this, none of us have it all together all the time. We are, she says, a “hot mess.”

Trusting God is not that the same thing as being ignorant, or indulging ourselves and then crying out to God in our time of need. We are urged to “count the costs” before starting a project (Luke 14:28). The story of Joseph cautions us to make preparation and save during good times to prepare for the lean times (Genesis 41). But we are also taught that God is strong in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9) and that our ‘wisdom’ is “foolishness” to God (1 Corinthians 3:19).

In Judges chapter 7, God tells Gideon to reduce his army from 32,000 fighting men to just 300 who are faithful and diligent. And their task was to fight against 120,000 enemy soldiers! Such ridiculous odds were sure to reveal that the battle’s victory would belong entirely to God alone, not men.

There is a distinct difference between knowing about faith and living it. Ultimately, I completely trust God with the outcome of this cancer. But one of the lessons I am continuing to learn is how much I need Jesus to show me the way to live out my faith moment by moment.

Numbers can be related to health, finances, weather forecasts, job security, house cleaning, friendships, and so much more. How do you balance faith and numbers in your life?

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Psalm 20:7