Trusting God in a World Gone Wrong
Sometimes when we look at the world, it’s easy to wonder where God is.
- Why didn’t God step in and prevent the hurricane that devastated so many people?
- Why did God allow that innocent baby to be born with such a devastating disability?
These are the very questions that turn people into skeptics. They dismiss the idea that there is a God who is both powerful and loving.
- If there is a God, He may be powerful, but He’s not loving. Otherwise, He would have used His power to stop people from being hurt.
- If there is a God, He may be loving, but He has no power. He may want to step in and help those He loves, but He is powerless to do so.
I’ll admit that, while I do not share the skeptic’s conclusions, I’m hard pressed to understand God’s seeming lack of intervention in many situations. I’ve lived long enough, though, to affirm that God is both powerful and loving. There are so many things in my life that I cannot explain apart from God’s power and love.
The psalmist David shared the same conclusion.
“God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: strength belongs to God, and faithful love belongs to you, Lord” (Ps. 62:11-12).
David heard God “speak” through the things he experienced. God’s voice was clearly heard in the way He had worked in David’s life. Consider the gracious love of God that compelled David to write Psalm 23, and the power of God that compelled him to pen Psalm 29.
Although David said in Psalm 62 that he heard God speak “once … twice,” this truth was not something he heard only twice. That is a Hebrew idiom for “repeatedly.” David had repeatedly seen evidence of both God’s love and power.
I share the same conviction. I can’t explain everything that happens in the world, but I still trust God’s goodness and love in my life. When things don’t turn out as I hope, when God doesn’t rescue me like I wanted Him to, I still trust His goodness and love.
Can we trust when we don’t have all the answers? Can we trust when the world is not revolving as we think it should? Do we get mad at God or trust Him? Does our disappoint with God turn us into angry skeptics or do we trust?
Let me take us back to Psalm 62 because I didn’t finish quoting the verses.
“God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: strength belongs to God, and faithful love belongs to you, Lord. For you repay each according to his works.”
One day God’s love and power will be fully evident to all. One day we will understand how God was at work when His hand seemed to be hidden. But until that day, I want my actions, words, and attitudes to reflect an unwavering trust in God.
He is loving. He is powerful. And I’m so thankful for that.
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