The Bible Speaks - Learning to Trust God

[00:00:00] We welcome to the Bible Speaks with Elgin Carelock. The Bible Speaks is a weekly ministry of harvest international. Our prayer is that the Bible Speaks will encourage you in your study of God's Word.

[00:00:38] You will be able to contact Elgin at the address given at the end of this broadcast. And now here's Elgin. Learning to Trust God. And I have invited my partner in life and fellow worker in the vineyard, Judy Carelock, to join us because

[00:01:13] this is something that we discuss on a fairly regular basis. So our spiritual inspiration comes from Mark. Chapter 9 verses 14 through 24. And while that is a little longer than what we normally read and discussion, it's really relevant to our conversation.

[00:01:39] And so I want to read an instantiary from the King of James Version. And it reads, when they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them. And the teachers of the law arguing with them.

[00:01:56] As soon as all of people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet them. What are you arguing with them about? He asked, a man in the crowd answered, teacher, I brought my son who was possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.

[00:02:16] Whenever it ceases him, it throws him to the ground. He foams that to mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I actually were disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not. You unbelieving generation, Jesus replied, how long shall I stay with you?

[00:02:37] How long shall I put up with you? Bring me the boy. So they brought him. When the spirits saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus acts to boy's father,

[00:02:57] how long has he been like this? From childhood he answered, it is often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. If you can, Jesus said, everything is possible for one who believes.

[00:03:18] Immediately, the boy's father exclaimed, I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief. Reading this passage made me wonder if it is possible to truly believe, but not trust. When we are faced with a situation that has been going on for a while or

[00:03:43] that seems like there is no solution, it is easy for us to give into feelings of despair and doubt, or what the Bible refers to as unbelief. So today we are going to have a discussion on what it takes to trust God and what that journey is like.

[00:04:05] But before we begin discussing what unbelief is, I feel it's important that we establish what it means to believe. Romans 109, reading from the new living translation reads, if you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart,

[00:04:24] that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. This is the foundation of believing. And Paul has another dimension in Romans 8 verses 38 through 39, which reads, for I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels, no principalities, no powers, no things present,

[00:04:51] no things to come, nor height, nor death, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Unbelief in the Bible is defined as the lack of faith or trust in God and His promises.

[00:05:11] It is characterized by doubt, skepticism, and a reluctance to believe in the truth of God's word and His works. Many times this is not a spiritual state of mind but one of the flesh. James 1 verses 6 through 7 reading from the new international version reads,

[00:05:35] but when you ask, you must believe and not doubt. Because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown in toss by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

[00:05:50] If not addressed, doubt can undermine your faith, which makes it difficult to receive God's blessings and answers to prayer. We see a good example of this when Peter walks to Jesus on the water in Matthew 14 verses 28 through 31.

[00:06:10] Peter let go of the boat and walk towards Jesus with success, until he noticed the boisterous wave, which instantly activated his natural mind and caused him to doubt what he was already doing. Jesus underscores this point in verse 31 and reading from the

[00:06:32] English standard version it reads, Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, oh you of little faith, why did you doubt? We know that Peter had faith or he would not have gotten out of the boat but taking his eyes

[00:06:51] off Jesus was the beginning of his sinking. One explanation can be found in Matthew 26 verse 41, which reads, watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing

[00:07:09] but the flesh is weak. The father of the young boys faith was strong enough that he sought help in the disciples but their inability to cure his son caused him to speak without when he was

[00:07:24] in the presence of Jesus. So how do we learn to trust God? In our preparation for this discussion, you shared your thoughts with me, will you share it with our listeners as well? Absolutely, hello everyone. I believe we learned to trust God by communicating with him through prayer,

[00:07:45] sharing ourselves and our feelings with him, and knowing he only wants the very best for us. I remember in our experiences with him times when he has brought us through deliverers in the past.

[00:08:01] I believe it takes time for that trust to develop. It didn't happen overnight for me. I still believe I'm growing and trusting him more. You mentioned sharing your feelings with God. What if we're angry with him? Do we have the right to say that too?

[00:08:21] Because God loves you, you can show your trust in him by talking about all your feelings and circumstances, the good, bad, and disappointing. This allows you to not let those feelings rule your life

[00:08:37] by bringing them to God. He can help you address them and have peace while you work through as it says in Philippians 4 7, which reads, and the peace of God which surpasses all

[00:08:53] understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. As a mother, I would rather my children come to me with how they were feeling regarding situations in life and allow me the opportunity to offer guidance through experience and my genuine desire to see them thrive in life.

[00:09:15] God said the same thing about you and me as his children in John 1010 which reads, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it

[00:09:34] abundantly. Well, that makes sense. But how do you trust God when you're going through and are uncertain if he will hear you or even respond? By reflecting on the times he has delivered or come through

[00:09:53] for you in your life, by allowing his word to comfort you. There are scriptures I read when I'm uncertain that assure me that he has my best interests at heart. One of my favorites is Romans 828,

[00:10:08] which reads, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the call to according to his purpose. It reminds me that no matter what it looks like,

[00:10:22] God will work it out for my good. Would you mind sharing a brief example of when God has come through for you in a miraculous way? Absolutely. When my daughter Latisha was born,

[00:10:37] she was born with a true knot in her umbilica cord that umbilica cord was wrapped around her neck and she was in distress. But when they told me what was going on, I didn't panic. I didn't have

[00:10:56] any feeling of doom or gloom. I just trusted and believed in God and continued to pray through the process but after she was born, they cleaned her up. They massage her and she gave a good cry

[00:11:14] and everything was fine. And that's just another example of when God comes through for you. Brothers and sisters, learning to trust God is a gradual and transformative process that involves growing in faith, understanding and reliance on Him. This journey often includes

[00:11:35] moments of doubt, challenges and the need to relinquish control but it is profoundly worth the effort. As believers we experience God's faithfulness in various situations, through answered prayer, guidance, and his provision which help us develop a deeper confidence in

[00:11:56] his character and promises. Trusting God requires us to continually surrender our anxieties and uncertainties, aligning our will with His and believing His ultimate plan for our lives. This process is enriched through our regular prayer, studying scripture and reflecting on God's

[00:12:18] past faithfulness. Over time our trust deepens we find greater peace, joy and resilience knowing that God is sovereign, loving and trustworthy. Brothers and sisters I thank you for spending time with this on today and I look forward to our conversation on tomorrow until then God bless. God bless.

[00:12:49] This program is cared for by listeners who care, your prayers and financial investment in this ministry helps to keep the good news on the air. We look forward to hearing from you and invite you to write us at harvest international post office box 66690 O'Cala Florida 34488. Again,

[00:13:16] that's harvest international post office box 66690 O'Cala Florida 344878.