Learning to Trust
Learning to Trust
“Why are you troubled?” He asked them. “And why do doubts arise in your hearts?” (Luke 24:38)
The Strange Ways of God
“Why are you troubled?” What a strange question from Jesus, considering that His followers were still reeling from His brutal murder, and He had now surprised them with His resurrection. For three years they had followed Him, invested their greatest dreams in Him, and hoped to see Him usher in the kingdom of God. Then for three days they had been trying to come to grips with losing Him to the most cruel kind of death dreamed up by Rome. Heaven had been silent. All seemed lost. They groped to understand. And suddenly He was standing before them! While they attempted to process the mind-boggling reality, He asked them why they ever doubted Him. Perhaps we would have doubted too.
Take the Leap
We learn a couple of big lessons from this exchange. First, God is willing to plunge us into confusing, scary, gut-wrenching situations. Second, He wants us to keep trusting Him no matter how bleak it looks, no matter how bewildering it seems. He is working out His plan, even if you can’t make sense out of it. He is asking you the same question He asked Peter, James, and John—“Why do doubts arise in your hearts?”
Did He not create the universe? Did He not part the Red Sea? Has He not always kept His promises? Why would we think He would fail now? Why are we troubled?
Bottom Line
Like a muscle, faith must be stretched and exercised in order to grow. God often allows trials and confusion to give us the chance to trust Him.