AP

Deuteronomy 1:29-33  Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them.  The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness.  There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”  In spite of this, you did not trust in the LORD your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

As I read these verses I thought of the warning the Apostle Paul gave to the fledgling Church at Corinth: Having recounted the message of Deuteronomy 1 where Moses rehearsed how God had proven his power and faithfulness to them in rescuing them from Egypt and caring for them miraculously in the wilderness, he wrote, “Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.  Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.” (1 Corinthians 10:5-6).  Just their failure to trust God, in spite of all the clear evidenceI of his goodness they had experienced, was as ‘evil’ as all the wicked behaviour that flowed on from their disobedience!

So I found myself doing some heart-searching about my failures in the ‘trust’ department!  I found my brain singing, “I will trust my Saviour, Jesus, when my darkest doubts befall; trust him when to simply trust him seems the hardest thing of all.  I will trust my Saviour, Jesus, trust him when my strength is small, for I KNOW the shield of Jesus is the safest place of all. Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust you more and more; Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever yours.  I will trust my Saviour, Jesus, he has said his way is best, and I know the path he’s chosen leads to everlasting rest. … … Oh on that cross, how it was seen I can go now ever trusting in the One who died for me.  What could I bring, for your gift is complete, so I trust you, simply trust you, Lord with every part of me” ( Cityalight Music).  All this makes me realise, and appreciate, why Jesus had to come to rescue me from my sinful self!

–  Bruce Christian