1 Kings 8:1-6,
10-11, 22-30, 41-43 Psalm 84 Ephesians 6:10-20 John 6:56-69
Trusting God
A story has been
told about a man who went hiking up Table Mountain. As he was walking, the
famous tablecloth descended upon him in thick, impenetrable folds – so thick he
could not see where he was walking. He knew he needed to get off the mountain
as quickly as possible, so he gingerly picked his way forward towards the path
leading down to the parking lot below. At one point, he misjudged his step,
slipped on a wet rock, and went plummeting down the cliff side. As he fell he
instinctively grabbed for something that would break his fall…and to his
relief, a rather large bush just happened to be growing out of the side of the
mountain, and he clung on for dear life.
But he knew this
relief was only temporary…he had to find a way to get his feet on firm ground
so that he could scramble to safety…but he could not see anything and, try as
he might, swinging back and forth with his legs, he could not feel anything.
Then he felt the bush give a little…some soil and a few pebbles fell on his
head. It was only a matter of time before his weight would prove to be too much
for the bush’s shallow root system and his perilous descent would recommence.
So he summoned every
ounce of strength left in him and cried out with the loudest voice he could
muster.
“Help! Is there
anyone out there? Please, help me.”
To his immense
surprise, he heard a voice remarkably close by…in fact it almost sounded as if
the voice was close to his ear.
“I am here. Do not
be afraid.”
“Oh, please,” the
man cried. “Are you able to help me?”
“I am,” the voice
replied, “Are you willing to trust me?”
“Yes!” shouted the
man, “Yes, I am. Please help me. Quickly.”
“Let go of the
bush,” the voice said calmly.
“Say what now?”
cried the man.
“Let go of the
bush,” said the voice.
“Let go of the
bush? You’re kidding me, right? That’s not funny. Please, I am very scared…and
I’m slipping…the bush is giving way…help me. I can’t hold on much longer, please.
I don’t want to die!”
“I am here to help
you. You will not die if you just trust me. Let go of the bush…there is a wide
ledge a few feet below you. Trust me. I give you my word. Just trust me. Let go
of the bush.”
For a brief moment
the man hesitated. Then he screamed: “Is there anyone else out there?”
It is interesting
to me that at the very heart of Solomon’s Temple – in the holiest place – the
Holy of Holies – was a box containing just three rather ordinary things. One
was a simple earthenware jug filled with a flaky substance…a small sample of
Manna …the other was a simple wooden staff that had once budded…and the other
was a block of stone with some words carved into it. If you didn’t know what
these things were, they would look very plain and ordinary…
But in the right
context, these things were very precious, not necessarily because all three
were miraculous, but because they each had a remarkable story to tell…the
strange, unknown bread graciously provided from heaven to feed God’s people in the
desert… the dried out walking stick that had miraculously sprouted buds and
flowers to confirm the God-given leadership of the High Priest, Aaron, Moses’
brother…and the Ten Words of God, or the Ten Commandments as we call them,
carved out of rock by the very hand of the Almighty Himself.
You see, what made
these items worthy of their placement in such a hallowed space was that each
one represented the trustworthiness of God’s Word in the past…and, in the
belief system of the Ancient Israelites, if God had done it before, He could be
trusted to do it again in the present and in the future.
Or to use the
words of the great King Solomon: “Praise the Lord who has given rest to His
people Israel, just as He promised.
Not one
word has failed of all the wonderful promises He gave through His servant
Moses. May the Lord our God be with
us as He was with our ancestors; may He never leave us or abandon us.”
God’s Word is
trustworthy…what He says He will do. But how can we be so sure? Well, basically
because He has a proven track record. The stories in the Bible are there to
show us that in spite of what humans think…in spite of what humans fear…in
spite of what humans do…in spite of doubt, scepticism, cynicism, weakness, despondency,
indifference, and sheer unbelief…God has always proved to be faithful to those
who trust Him…and, graciously, sometimes even to those who do not trust Him.
Trust. I want you
to see that this one word is key…it is central to our faith…trust. But not just
a disembodied trust…it is a trust that is founded on His proven and tested
Word.
When King Solomon
dedicated the Temple, his focus was on the Word of the God Who had proved
Himself faithful to His people and to His king. “You have kept Your promise,”
he said, “You made that promise with Your own mouth, and with Your own hands
You have fulfilled it today.”
And based on the
fact that God is a promise keeping God, Solomon could confidently pray: “May
You always hear the prayers I make…May You hear the humble and earnest requests
from me and Your people Israel…(may You hear the prayers made by) foreigners
who do not belong to Your people Israel…when they pray (to You)…May Your eyes
be open to my requests and to the requests of Your people…May You hear and
answer them whenever they cry out to You.”
The message seems
clear: just as God heard the prayers of His people down through the ages, so
surely He will hear the prayers of His people today and tomorrow and for all
time, because He is a promise keeping God…He is a faithful God…and His Word is
trustworthy.
This truth is
crucial to our lives as followers of Jesus especially when it seems as if all
hope is fading…when we just don’t understand…when we cannot understand…when we
are hanging on by our fingertips…perhaps hanging on to things that are in
themselves not trustworthy…things that are fragile and feeble and weak and
failing.
Now, for a moment,
I want you to put on the sandals of the disciples in Capernaum as they heard
those baffling words spoken by their Rabbi, Jesus. Ready?
There you are
listening – all anticipation – what is He going to say and do this time? And
then you hear Him say: “Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks My blood remains in
Me and I in him.” You do a double take? What was that? Eat human flesh and drink
human blood? Cannibalism? Seriously? Surely that can’t be what He means, right?
It has to be a metaphor…bread of life…bread of heaven…flesh and blood…this is
really so hard to comprehend.
And then as you
are still scratching your head, you see many other followers leaving…and they
are leaving in droves!
Now, don’t judge
these deserters too harshly…theologians are still arguing about the meaning of
this text…during the Reformation, people lost their heads and were burned at
the stake because someone did not understand what Jesus meant by “Eat my flesh
and drink My blood”.
But then Jesus
turns to you and says: “Are you also going to leave?”
Can you hear it? What
is behind this question? “Do you trust Me?”
How did Simon
Peter respond? Listen carefully to what he said. “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the WORDS that give eternal life. We believe and we
know you are the Holy One of God.”
How on earth did
they know?
Well, during the
time they had spent with Jesus these disciples had come to believe and know
first-hand that the words of Jesus were trustworthy. He had not failed them
before. He had done all things well. Why then would they abandon Him when the
going got tough…when things were hard to comprehend…when it seemed as if they
were on the losing side?
Now, don’t get me
wrong. I am not talking about fatalism. I’m not espousing a “Let go and let God
– a que sera, sera attitude to life. I’m not even talking about blind faith.
No, what I am
referring to is the Word of a God Who has made promises with His own mouth and
has fulfilled those promises time and again. The Scriptures and history itself
testifies on His behalf. What He promised He did…His Word is trustworthy…
And it is this
Word that helps us through trials and tribulations and troubles…it is this Word
that defeats unbelief…it is this Word that quenches the fiery arrows of the
evil one…it is this Word that keeps us afloat in the storms of life…it is this
Word that is our only offensive weapon in the armoury of God.
What God has
promised, He has done…what God has promised, He will do…what God has promised,
He does. He is trustworthy…the Scriptures testify to the fact…the saints
throughout history testify to the fact…and I am sure your own lives testify to
the fact.
This is one of the
reasons why I love the Eucharist so much. This is a picture…a portrait of our
Lord’s trustworthiness. Way back when sin first entered our world, God promised
that He would send someone…the Seed of a woman, as the older translations have
it…to set things right. And He did. The second Person of the Trinity…the Son of
God Himself…left His glory…He set aside His majesty…so that He might take on
human form to annul a penalty that was mine…to die a death that was mine…to pay
a ransom that was mine…
Here at His Table,
we see His Word re-enacted…performed…demonstrated…with simple and ordinary
elements…bread and wine…as simple and as ordinary as an earthenware jug, a dry
walking stick, and a piece of stone. But in the context of this gathering of
His people, these ordinary, simple elements take on a whole new meaning…a
profound meaning…a life changing meaning…here these elements tell us a story of
promise and fulfilment…a story of faithfulness…a story of love…a story of
trust.
So when the clouds
descend upon your life as a blanket…when you simply cannot see one step ahead
of yourself…when you are hanging on for dear life…when others are losing
hope…when so called common sense and logic fail you…trust Him…trust His Word.
Dearest beloved
brethren, place God’s Word in the most sacred space in your life…at the very
centre of your existence…and allow it to be the governing force behind
everything you think and do and say. Only then will you be able to trust Him…
Johannes W H van
der Bijl © 2018-08-20
