"TRUST"

Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 6:17-26; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20  

Once upon a time,

rain was falling and falling and falling.

There was an old woman was living by herself

and was home alone

when the police came and knocked on her door.

"Come on, lady, you'd better leave with us," they said

"The water is rising fast,

and we want to make sure you get out safely."

?No," she said, "go ahead and help somebody else if you want.

The Lord will take care of me."

So they left and she stayed in her home.

Then, as they said, the water began to rise. 

It got as high as her front porch,

but she was still safe inside.

It wasn't long before the police returned to her door,

this time in a small boat.

"Come on, lady," they cried from a bullhorn.

"The water is still rising,

and we want you to get out safely."

"No," she said,

"go ahead and help somebody else if you want.

The Lord will take care of me."

So they motored off in their boat,

and she stayed there in her home.

Well, the water indeed continued to rise.

It wasn't long before it had begun to flood her house.

Before she knew it,

she had to climb onto her roof for safety.

The police returned one more time,

this time in a helicopter.

From over her house, they lowered a rope.

"Come on, lady," they cried from the bullhorn.

"We can't keep coming back. 

Come with us now,

and we'll get you to safety."

"No," she said again,

"go ahead and help somebody else!

The Lord will take care of me."

So sadly they flew off,

the water continued to rise,

and the woman was drowned. 

Later that day,

as she sat in God's lap in heaven,

she really let God have it for the way that she died.

"I trusted you, God," she said.

"I waited and waited for you to help me. 

Where were you?" 

And very patiently,

God said "I was there for you.

Who do you think sent the police

            and the boat

                        and the helicopter?!"

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How do we walk that fine line

between trusting God to take care of things on one hand,

and on the other hand,

trusting that God has giving us the minds

            and gifts and skills

to work on them ourselves?

Theologians call this

the difference between providence and free will.

How do we trust that God will provide for us,

while still not neglecting the good gifts God has given us

to take care of ourselves?

I think that part of the key to the answer

is discernment.

Discernment is the good gift that God has given us

that helps us to make good choices.

And choosing when to rely on God

and when to use our God-given faculties

is itself one of those good gifts.

But the bigger issue at stake here

is trust.

Do we trust God to care for us?

Do we trust that God has given us the ability

to care for ourselves?

And even in that caring for ourselves,

do we trust that God is still at work?

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I want to give you a "Test" this morning.

And no one will grade this test but you.

I want to ask you some questions

that I hope will help you see how little or how much

you really do trust God to be in the lead of your life.

Write them down if you like. 

There are three of them.

Here we go.

First question:

how does your life reflect who and what you trust?

How does your life reflect who and what you trust?

Think about all areas of your life.

Look at the time you spend and who you spend it with.

Look at how you choose to amuse yourself,

            whether it's with your family and friends,

            or whether it's by yourself playing video games.

How do you spend your leisure time?

If you give a tenth of your income to church or charity,

do you give a tenth of your time as well?

How do you care for your body?

How do you care for your mind and your education?

Do you study to the best of your ability,

or do you just try to "get by" with the minimum?

How you live your life

reflects who and what it is that you trust.

One quick litmus test you can run

is to take a critical look at your "space."

Look at your bedroom,

or your office,

or your backpack,

or whatever space is yours.

How is it decorated?

What things do you display for everyone to see?

How is it organized, 

or how is it DISorganized?!

This may be the fastest way

to take a quick assessment of your life

and how it reflects who and what you trust.

Second question:

how do your relationships reflect who and what you trust?

How do your relationships reflect who and what you trust?

How many long-term friendships can you count in your life?

Are you a loyal friend?

Are you honest with your family?

Can you keep a secret,

or are you too much of a gossip?

If you're married,

are you not only faithful to your spouse

but thoughtful of them as well?

How do you treat your parents? 

How do you interact with your children?

Are you aware of the influence your behavior has

on those who are younger than you?

When people talk about you to others,

would they say that you're as good as your word?

Here's your second litmus test:

go home and write down the name

of every relationship that's significant in your life right now.

Then look at each one on its own,

and reflect on the current state of health of that relationship.

Where can you improve?

Where is God calling you to be more honest,

or more committed,

or more loving

with the most important relationships in your lives?

And if someone you didn't know

happened to see you across a crowded room

with one of those people important to you,

what would they see?

Third question:

and this one's the biggie:

how do your finances reflect who and what you trust?

How do your finances reflect who and what you trust?

What do you choose to invest in?

How do you spend discretionary income?

Do your necessities get paid for first?

Do you enjoy providing for others,

or do you keep it all for yourself?

Are you saving too little,

or are you saving too much?

Here comes the most sobering litmus test of the day.

Go home and take out your checkbook,

or make a list of things you've bought recently,

and then put a letter "T" by each thing you paid for

where you think your spending reflects trust in God.

Now if you think this all sounds suspiciously like stewardship,

well, it is!!

All of life is stewardship.

Everything we have,

everything we own,

everything we are -

all of it is a gift from God.

And what we do with all of it 

reflects who the true God is in our lives.

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The truth is //

that we can trust God implicitly and completely.

We can trust God

both to care for our every need

and to give us the resources

to take care of  ourselves.

Our task //

is to make sure

that we are indeed using those good resources

to care for ourselves and for others

in the way in which God has called us to do:

with pure confidence //

and ultimate trust.

So what do our scripture readings have to say

about what happens when we trust God ?

Jeremiah says

that those who trust God more than they trust humans

will always have everything that they need.

Now, "needs" are clearly different from "wants,"  

but trusting God

will help us figure out which is which.

We don't have to worry.

God will always provide for us.

Trusting in God

puts all the rest of our lives into perspective.

And then Luke says

that trusting God

means that our priorities

will become radically different

than the priorities of the world.

Jesus says

that people who have all those things the world considers good 

will be the ones to receive woe.

And those people

who have all those things the world considers not so good

will be the ones to receive blessing. 

I don't think that Jesus is telling us here

that we are called to go out and sell all that we have

and beat ourselves about the head and shoulders

so that we will receive blessings.

The problems begin.

when we get too much in sync

with the world.

If we can trust God more than our stuff

and choose to follow Jesus,

our priorities will be very different

from what the world calls "success." 

And when we find that our trust in God

is changing our lives

and all of our relationships,

we should welcome that change

and continue to trust. 

Then the apostle Paul tells us

that our trust in God

spills over from this life

and extends into the life beyond. 

Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthians

that if we say we believe in Jesus Christ

and yet doubt the reality of his resurrection,

then we are "most of all to be pitied,"

and our faith is "in vain."

Yet if we do trust God,

and if we do trust all the promises that God has given us,

we can trust

that the God who cares for us in this life //

will also care for us in the next.

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When I was in seminary,

someone asked me where it was in scripture

that they could find the verse
"God helps those who helps themselves."

Well, that's not in scripture.

God does help those who help themselves.

When we are in danger of drowning,

God provides us a police officer,

            and a boat,

                        and a helicopter with a rope.

But the good news of the gospel, friends,

is that God helps those of us who cannot help themselves.

When we cannot help ourselves //

is when God is there more than ever for us.

If you need some proof of that,

the cross should do.

In the last analysis,

none of us can help ourselves.

It is a fine line we must walk

between figuring out when we can sit back

and rely on God to take care of things,

and when we must use and rely on

the gifts that God has given us

to make things better.

But in all of it,

we can rely on God.

We can trust God.

Now, how do we show it?

Amen.