In times of crisis and fear, we look for a leader in whose courage we can rely and in whose words, we can trust. The problem is, of course, that human leaders are fallible. Though their words inspire us, their lives are imperfect. Their oratory may inflame us, but their thoughts are finite.
We need a leader who never falters, whose words are true, whose power is wisely administered, and whose promises never fail. We have such a leader, for we have the Lord! We can trust Him completely, and this kind of faith drives out fear. His plans and purposes can be relied upon.
First, we rely on an eternal person. Don’t misunderstand me when I say our faith isn’t primarily in God’s Word, but in His person. Yes, we do trust the Bible. But the reason the Bible is trustworthy is because its Author is unfailing. The reason we rely on His promises is because He cannot lie. Our God is eternally unchanging, truthful, omniscient, and faithful, so His promises and precepts are the same. Scripture didn’t breathe out God, but God breathed out the Scripture; and the reason we study the Bible is to learn more about Him.
When we rest in the Lord like that, we can rely on His plan. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in Daniel 3 didn’t know for sure how events would turn out when they were thrown in the fiery furnace. They believed God could deliver them from the furnace, but they wanted their testimony to stand even if they perished in the flames. When we rely on the Lord, we trust His plan to be best for us, even if our lives unfold differently than we’d expected. Someone said, “God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.” Psalm 33:11 says, “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.”
God does nothing in a haphazard way. He plans every detail, and He has plans for you. His plans are intended to bless you and give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).
When we rely on God and His plan, we have full reliance on His eternal promises. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “God never gives His children a promise which He does not intend them to use. There are some promises in the Bible which I have never yet used; but I am well assured that there will come times of trial and trouble when I shall find that that poor despised promise, which I thought was never meant for me, will be the only one on which I can float.”[1]
We never face a situation for which God has not supplied specific promises that provide mercy and grace to help in time of need. J. I. Packer ably wrote: “In the days when the Bible was universally acknowledged in the churches as ‘God’s Word written,’ it was clearly understood that the promises of God recorded in Scripture were the proper, God-given basis for all our life of faith, and that the way to strengthen one’s faith was to focus it upon particular promises that spoke to one’s condition.”[2]
Are you currently facing a problem or pressure? Between the covers of your Bible, God has a specific promise to aid you. Search the Scriptures, find that promise, and focus your heart on its truth. Rely on His realities.
As we rely on our Lord and His plans and promises, we’ll increasingly look forward to heaven—our eternal home. Here we have no enduring city, house, church, or kingdom. Here all that’s tangible is temporary. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen as we await the city with foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Faith is relying on things eternal—on God, His Word, His plan, and His prepared place. This eternal reliance helps us face down our fears and stand upright, firmly established with our confidence and hope in Christ.
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Dr. Jeremiah is the founder and host of Turning Point for God and senior pastor of
Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California.
For more information on Turning Point, go to
www.DavidJeremiah.org
