Sometimes when I look up from the Bible, I get discouraged. Scripture describes what our lives could look, and I am excited about the picture. Then I see what we've made of it, and I lose heart. I often respond to this by taking the burden onto my shoulders to fix the world.
This weekend we had a teen retreat at Camp, and it became clear that I am not the only one who loses hope when faced with the reality of the sinful world around us. The girls cabins spent some time in reflections on Friday night thinking about the parts of their life where they need to trust God's will, and rest confidently in him. (Normally, we don't share reflections, but since they chose to post their reflections in the dining hall on the wall for everyone to see...)
There are times that you probably look around and don’t notice God at work. There are times when you feel like he hasn’t given enough evidence of his power and control. So many things happen that shouldn’t. Things don’t seem to make sense. Things don’t fit in with your plan.
And so you doubt God. You give up on him, and think that you need to go elsewhere to find peace. Maybe in your own accomplishments, or your relationships, or you escape into your pastimes.
The truth is that our giving up, our giving in, demonstrates a lack of trust in God. This isn’t surprising I guess. Not trusting was the first sin. Really all sin is about not trusting.
God spends most of the Bible, and most of our lives teaching us to trust. One place that he shows us trust, is Job. The story of Job begins with a faithful man of God being stripped of all his blessings, joys, family and health. In Job 1:20-22, we hear about the kind of response Job had in the midst of his sufferings.
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
“Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
Job 2:9-10
We know that Job's friends ended up doubting his faithfulness and purity as well. They sort of treated God like he was able to be manipulated. "If you do this Job, then God will do this...."
The truth in this is the story of Job is just one of hundreds examples in Scripture and thousands of examples of times in our lives where God tells us, "Trust Me!"
And he does not say "Trust me" the way any human does. He says it with the voice of the only one who has never failed us. We may have felt that god has let us down, but that again is our sinfulness showing up. When we remember the total sacrifice, the complete love of our Lord, we can beleive him when he says to us, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus walked on the earth, teaching his disciples how to trust him--preparing them to be able to trust him even after he had gone. And now we are to trust him that much. He has already provided for us an escape from punishment, and a new life in Himself, now he ask us to trust him with some smaller things like how much money we are comfortable giving to church, which television shows to allow our kids to watch, and whether or not to make time for Scripture reading today.
Jesus walked on the earth, teaching his disciples how to trust him--preparing them to be able to trust him even after he had gone. And now we are to trust him that much. He has already provided for us an escape from punishment, and a new life in Himself, now he ask us to trust him with some smaller things like how much money we are comfortable giving to church, which television shows to allow our kids to watch, and whether or not to make time for Scripture reading today.
This weekend, I got reminded that Crazy Confidence makes the people around us ask the question, “Are you kidding me?” That many of the people we model our faith after trusted God so much that the were willing to appear silly to those around them who didn't get it. When I'm talking to a group of teenagers, I realize that the life I am asking them to live is one that would appear ridiculous to many of those around them.
“You don’t like Lady Gaga? Are you kidding me? Her music is so fun and her videos are so creative!”
“You don’t want to have sex until you’re married? How can you wait so long? It’s no big deal!”
“What’s the big deal about Sunday morning, can’t you make it through a week without church?”
When people are asking those questions, you know you are doing the right things.
Don’t confuse Crazy Confidence with self-confidence. Self confidence looks boastful and arrogant. Crazy Confidence is humble and submits to what God’s Word says.
At Camp Phillip we have for years done an activity called a trust fall. To stand at the top of a platform, and simply fall straight backwards into the arms of your teammates takes a lot of trust. It is always scary for a second. But if we flail and try to catch ourselves during that scary second, that’s when we have problems and people get hurt. If we practice a little Crazy Confidence, then we get to experience the joy of being held up, being protected and safe.
When we are acting in Crazy Confidence, it might feel scary, but it’s that scared feeling that lets me know that I am resting on God’s power and not my own.
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