Trust.

A college student in a far eastern country prepared for another day of lectures. Each student would sit on a stool in the lecture hall. As the professor entered the room, the student population stood in respect - a common expression in this part of the world. As the students sat back down, one particularly rambunctious young man put his foot on the stool in front of him and pulled it out from behind a fellow classmate. Another student saw what was about to happen and, at the last second, tried to replace the stool. Unfortunately his generous offering was a split-second too late and the student went crashing to the ground, books and all! The generous student stood there “caught,” as it were, in an illusion of guilt: his hand was still on the stool. 

Immediately the professor steamed out a barking command for this student to leave the classroom. The student begged for a chance to explain. He was silenced and told to leave. He called out a second time but was harshly rebuffed in his attempt for clarification. To make matters worse, the prankster did replace the stool for the victim, appearing to be the hero.

Fifty years later, that vivid imagery of malicious activity and faulty conclusions still rang through the mind of the chastised student as he strolled the very same campus. The professor did not trust the student based on the circumstances, even though he had purely good intentions. 

Today, who do we see as the culprit in the room and who do we see as the one trying to make things right? Do we trust the One who is trying to make things right? On what level do we trust him? Have we ever glared at him with angry intent because of some hurt or injustice done to us or another? Have we ever accused him of the wrong? How are we supposed to react when, in the course of our life, we come onto the scene in a world where some evil prankster has fouled up the gears and mechanisms, and the person who is blamed for this mishap is the one who is trying to fix it all: God. So many questions and so many doubts: Why does evil exist if there is a loving God? How can we trust God when so many things go wrong? Does God really have our best interest in mind?

We are asked by Scriptures to view this world—with all its crumbling buildings, neglected commitments, poverty-ridden communities, and disease-ridden peoples—as a place where Jesus entered the scene in order to save. 

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”// Luke 19:10

And we are to believe and trust the God who is trying to put it all back together. Meanwhile Satan, the one who called all this chaos into the human condition, slyly plays the hero. Satan would make God out to be the bad guy in all of this. This is one of many scenarios that strain our human attempts to trust God.

In our study this weekend from the book of Acts chapter 24, we see Paul in a position that demands trust in God, despite the circumstances that surround the backdrop of his current condition. Paul is in prison and his stay is not just days or weeks. It lingers into years of waiting and wondering and questioning. If we were in Paul’s shoes, what would we conclude? Would we willingly call God our faithful God or cast aside his promise to remain with us to the end? Life puts us all to the test. Satan wants us to see God as a deserter or a tyrant, vindictive or just plain aloof to our needs. But God’s faithfulness never grows weary. “His love for us endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34).

Join us in reading through Acts 24 and experience the God of love and faithfulness, despite difficult surroundings.

Blessings to you all in Jesus’ name!
Pastor Al