The nightmare, the attacks will happen, but He will see us through them if we trust and rely on Him.”
–Henry McLaughlin (Journey to Riverbend)
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.”
–Jeremiah 17:7 (NKJV)
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When I taught my apologetics classes, I always wrote on the board the first day of school three character traits. These remained throughout the year and were often referred to during the year. It might be: ENDURANCE–HONOR–ATTITUDE. Or this: INTENSITY–HONOR–FORTITUDE. Always honor was in the middle. Without personal honor we are nothing. Look at what is happening in our cities–it is because there is a lack of honor. Honor is necessary for a person, a society, a nation to survive and act within a moral boundary. Those rioting are mocking honor and want to live by anarchy which has no honor or laws at all. I was then thinking one morning, I do that once in a while and this came to my mind for Christians:
TRUSTING—-THANKING—-PRAISING
The Oxford Dictionary states that “trusting” means “showing or tending to have a belief in a person’s honesty or sincerity.” Therefore as we go through this life we place our trust in the character of God. We believe in His Word, the foundations of our lives are in this trust. He is the God who is there; He is the God who is faithful and true and we place our complete trust in this. Great is His faithfulness, great are His mercies. We can trust Him!
Second is “thanking.” I wrote last week about the need to be thankful. We cannot, as believers, go through this life without being thankful. Thankful for the large things in life, thankful for the small, seemingly insignificant things in life, thankful for our salvation and His sustaining power.
The third thought is “praising.” Praising is an act of the will. I am not speaking of jumping up and down spontaneously to an event, a speech, or an outcome. Yes, we can praise an individual by indicating with a mode of exuberance, but real praise takes some thought; it comes from a purpose, knowledge, and an act of the will. Praise and thankfulness can be mixed together, in fact, we can add trust to the mix. Since God is faithful, we can trust Him, we can thank Him for being so, then we can offer praise for the fact that He is.
Put that all together and we have the concept of living in faith. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, NKJV). “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20, NKJV) This old hymn speaks of how we are to live.
“Living by faith, in Jesus above,
Trusting, confiding in His great love,
From all harms safe, in His sheltering arm,
I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.”
–James Wells
Living by faith is trusting in Him, thanking Him, and praising Him. What a life! We have this assurance as we walk on our daily journey–this journey of living by faith–that the Lord is with us each step of the way. We trust Him for that, then we thank Him for being with us, then we give Him praise for all He does and for who He is. Look now, as I close at two of the verses then go out into the world triumphant and trusting.
“Tho’ tempests may blow and the storm-clouds arise
Obscuring the brightness of life,
I’m never alarmed at the overcast skies,
The Master looks on at the strife.
I know that He safely will carry me thro’,
No matter what ever betide,
Why should I then care, tho’ the tempest may blow
If Jesus walks close to my side.”