Trust in the Lord

    “Fear not for I am with you. Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
    In recent times, this has become one of my favourite and most relied on verses in the Bible. As I have faced various trials and tests, I have learned more and more, with God’s help, to stand on His Word, to trust Him even in dire times. With this verse, God has been reminding me to not be afraid, to expect that in troubled times, He will strengthen and enable me to make it, and He will hold me up when everything around me is trying to push me down and keep me down. God is faithful and He is able.
    I am reminded of the story of David and Goliath in the Bible (1 Samuel 17). The Israelites were facing a challenge that was literally and figuratively bigger than they could handle. Its name was Goliath. The Israelite army were challenged to provide someone who could fight against and defeat this Philistine giant. The entire army cowered in fear. The challenge seemed an impossible one. Yet, one small shepherd boy, David, rose to the challenge. He trusted in Jehovah, his God and God did not disappoint his faith in him. David defeated that giant and the Israelite army were able to defeat the Philistines. It was never about David’s or anyone’s ability to do the job. It was about having faith that God would win the battle, no matter how hopeless it seemed. 
    Some years ago, Matt, a farmer was reminded of the importance of trusting in his God. He was driving his forty thousand pound combine harvester home when it hit a rough spot in the road and bounced out of control. Matt was thrown through the windscreen and landed hard on the pavement just feet from the large machine’s front tire. Miraculously, the combine stopped without running him over. 
    In spite of various injuries, Matt had no internal bleeding or life threatening trauma. He was discharged from the hospital the same day. When he arrived home, he examined the machine and discovered that three wires had been cleanly cut in half. All other wires had remained intact. Those three cut wires are what had caused the machine to stop and not run him over. No explanation could be found as to why or how those three specific wires had been cut. Matt credits God with this miracle. As he puts it, God is the only one who could defy the laws of physics and stop a forty thousand pound machine moving at twenty-two miles an hour in its tracks. Matt and his wife, Kelly, believe that prayer and their trust in God’s protection is what saved Matt’s life. 
    Trust is a small word that can help us face giant problems. David trusted his God to defeat the giant, Goliath. Matt, in retrospect, learned to trust that his God would protect and keep him in impossible situations. We can all put ourselves in their shoes. We will face impossible challenges that seem designed to harm us, hinder us, even destroy us. Yet, trust in God is key. It’s about trusting in God’s ability to deliver, not in our own ability. It’s about expecting that God will carry out His own Word. It's about trusting that if He tells us not to be afraid, that He will help us and strengthen us,  that He will keep His promise to us. God is faithful and He is able.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God is still a present help in trouble. No matter how big and impossible your problem seems, it’s never too big or impossible for God. As God reminded Jeremiah (Jeremiah 32:27), just so He reminds us: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?”

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