How do we learn to trust God or have faith in God? It is a very good question, one that has been posed and answered by countless people over the years. The noted French philosopher Blaise Pascal described the process of finding and exercising faith as being like betting on a horse race. One does the necessary research on the horse and rider and their past record of performance, but then when you place your bed, you still don’t know for sure. It is an act of faith. The difference with God, he said, is if you bet on the ‘right horse’, that is, God, you have eternal life. And if you bet on God and God doesn’t exist, then you’ve lost nothing.

Another approach is that expressed in the book, Good God, It Works. Its author, Garth Lean, decided to try an experiment. He decided to ask God to direct his life, and to do so in a very definable, testable way. He asked God to ’speak to him’ (in his mind, of course) and direct him into to do something. Lean agreed beforehand that he would obey that direction without question or hesitation, trusting that it was really from God, and see what happened. Anyway, what Lean ‘heard’ from God seemed utterly ridiculous; nevertheless, he did what he was told, and the results were astounding. And, as he continued the experiment, the amazing results continued. This is an experiment that we can all do. (I can provide some more details on this if you wish.)

But, I have one other suggestion, which follows from what I have said in today’s meditation. We have an amazing record over the centuries of what happened when people trusted God--in the Scriptures, yes, but also all through history. And so, it is not a shot in the dark. There are all these people who have found God to be good, people indeed that are right around us, and so we can have confidence that trusting God is safe, that God is good and that it works. Thanks be to God.

One of the most influential Christian books of an earlier era was entitled, In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon. In it, a group of Christians pledged themselves to deliberately asking themselves, prior to making any decision or taking any action, ‘what would Jesus do?’ Or, put in other words, to try to be like Jesus in everything. This theme, this object, had quite a hold on me, at least for a while. Why just ‘for a while’? Because I realized that it is impossible. None of us if equipped with only our limited human wisdom and ability can ever be like Jesus. This is where I realized that we, all of us, need the indwelling Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of Jesus, to live within us and empower us. Only with Him, is this possible.

And here’s where today’s psalm comes in: Psalm 72, as a picture of the ideal king, is frankly quite impossible for all of us, and should we try to imitate this using only our own strength and intelligence we are bound to fail, and fail miserably. But here’s where the Holy Spirit comes in. He comes to equip us and empower us for this very thing, that is, to witness, to show forth Jesus in our lives! And so, we do stand a chance. Thanks be to God.

A brief glance at the incredible roll call of faith found in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews can seem quite overwhelming, quite impossible to match or imitate. And yet, its author’s purpose is not to overwhelm us but to encourage us. In fact, at the end of that chapter, and into the next, we are told that these ‘heroes of faith’ are indeed waiting for us and even cheering us on. Just think: Noah, Abraham and Sarah, and whole host of them sitting there in the stands--but now on their feet--chanting our names and cheering us on as we run our respective races and finally approach the finish line. They are saying, even if not in so many words, ‘We believe in you. You can do it, so press on.’ And indeed, that is what our God, our Saviour Jesus Christ, is saying as well. And so, we can take hope and press on no matter what.

In our western world there are two topics which tend to get a ‘lot of press’. They are ‘freedom’ and ‘privilege’. Freedom is extolled as being prized above all things, and privilege is demoted, given very bad press. And yet, in any discussion of the two, there is one element in common that is often left out, namely, responsibility. With freedom, there must necessarily lie some responsibility as to how that freedom is exercised and how that exercise of freedom impacts others. In other words, if our freedom interferes with the common good or with the rights of others, then it is quite appropriate that it be curtailed, whether personally or by legislative action. And with ‘privilege’, whether that privilege be upbringing, gender, language, ethnicity, education, wealth, or anything else, we also have a responsibility, namely to use it for the common good.

All of this takes us to our role as Christians in this world. In Christ Jesus, we have incredible privileges, but as with the other privileges these need to be used for others, to serve the common good, rather than just be ‘sat upon’ and used only for ourselves or a select few. That was a failing of ancient Israel, for which Jesus reproved them. I would hope that this same indictment cannot be said of any of us.

It really should not come as a surprise to us when we read today’s psalm and hear of God’s plan and desire to be embraced and worshipped by all the nations of the world--and by everyone in it. After all, did not Jesus command us to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) and did not His vision of heaven include every tribe, race, language and people (see Revelation 14:6)? So, then, why are we so slow at times, so hesitant, so fumbling, in carrying out this endeavour? Did not Jesus command us to carry it out and--this is most important--give us His own Spirit of power so that we can do it? My prayer is that all of us, me included, can become more willing to step out in faith with this task during this new year. God has ordained it and empowered it, so surely He will also help us in it. Thanks be to God.

As we know well, Jesus did some extremely wonderful and amazing things during His short ministry on earth. What is perhaps even more amazing is that He said, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). However, this hinges on a couple of things, firstly, that we discern what God is doing in our world and commit ourselves to working in accordance with this, and secondly, that we actively seek His will and direction, so that even the simplest and most ordinary things that we do will be done with His blessing and anointing. I, for one, sincerely believe that God wants to do great and incredible things in this world, and, believe it or not, wants to affect this through the efforts of ordinary people like you and I.

Have you ever had a seemingly random feeling about someone or something, or a feeling that you should or should not do something. I call them ‘inner nudges’ and I have learned, much to my regret, that ignoring them is not a good idea. Occasionally, they will concern something truly big, as what happened with the four fishermen, but usually, to most of us at least, they concern only seemingly small or inconsequential things. I have found from experience that sometimes they are not really that small or inconsequential. The problem is that you will never know unless you take the risk and listen and do whatever you’re being prompted to do (or not do). And I sincerely think that very often it is the Lord who is speaking to us in this way, and so, generally, I try to take it this way, doing it as a matter of trust in Him and then just letting the chips fall where they may. That way, seeing as I am actually trying to obey Him, it is the Lord who ultimately controls the outcome. Anyway, there’s something to think about.

One never knows just what kind of impact or effect we will have on others. Several people have told me that I ‘led them to the Lord,’ and I cannot, for the life of me, remember what I said or did that might have made a difference in those people’s lives. And certainly it was not intentional, for I did not see any of them as likely ‘prospects’ (that is, as people who were searching and in need of finding God). So, somehow, unbeknownst to me, it ‘just happened’.

And my suspicion and conviction is that this can happen with any one of us. None of us truly knows what impact we are having, yes, sometimes in very humble, unassuming and ordinary roles, even as mother or father, family, church or community member, aunt or uncle, or friend. Who knows. So let’s, all of us, simply strive to be like Jesus and follow Him, and see ‘where the chips fall.’ What an adventure!

After coming to an adult faith in Jesus Christ and experiencing the reality of the Holy Spirit’s presence in my life, I was blessed with a kind of overflowing and effervescent sense of inner joy. And so, you can well imagine that during ‘my dark night of the soul’, the loss of this inner joy was felt acutely and was extremely painful and difficult emotionally and spiritually. One can only imagine how Jesus felt on the Cross, when He felt abandoned by God, having never experienced a loss of fellowship or joy any time up until then. And numerous other people in the Scriptures also recount this sense of abandonment, Job, Jeremiah, Elijah, and of course, David, in today’s psalm. But what unites them all is that none of them gave up on God, no matter what they were going through. It is a great lesson for us, as probably most of us will go through this sort of thing at least once or twice during our lives!

In today’s passage from the Acts of the Apostles, I find one observation made of the two apostles, Peter and John, to be most telling, namely that they perceived that ‘they had been with Jesus’. My desire, prayer and hope that this could be said of all of us, and not just as a verbal description of our identity, but also as an observation of how we come across to others. Perhaps it is your prayer and desire as well.

Often, when we encounter some problem or difficulty in our lives, we will exclaim to ourselves, “What in the world have I done to deserve this?” And, often, this question is quite appropriate, for there seems to be nothing by way of cause and effect, nothing that would have directly caused or led up to this situation.

However, on the other hand, there may well be something. It may well be a case of ‘I had it coming’. The good news in this case is that God is still there, still loving and caring, and simply wanting to reach out and help us--if only we will let Him. But here’s where the old chestnuts of faith and repentance come in. Repentance is simply admitting that our way hasn’t worked and turning the direction of our lives around, around from our way of doing things to His way. And faith is simply trusting Him, letting Him take over and do in our lives what only He can do. It’s not a matter of ‘being good enough’ or measuring up in some way, but rather a matter of simply letting Him be God in our lives--which has the effect of freeing Him up so that He can actually do something.

Oddly, we sometimes make a distinction, an artificial one at that, between ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ as mere intentions, or as things simply jotted down on paper, on the one hand, and firm decisions or commitments, on the other hand. The first category is so easy to forget or pass over as the days slip on; however, the second, not quite so easy.

David, in today’s psalm, is firmly resolved to do certain things: to keep himself away from unhealthy associates and their speech and activities, to maintain his habit of worship, and to make sure that his daily dealings with others are true both to God and to himself. And, of course, to trust in God always, no matter what else is taking place in his life.

This strikes me as a useful paradigm as we, you and I, face into this new year. While we are already more than half-way into this first month, it will do us no help to assess ourselves, and start again, if at all necessary. I wish you the best in this.

Today’s passage and meditation touch on something that was, in my childhood home at least, a very touchy subject, namely the subject of sin. My dad’s pastor was ‘big’ on sin and on how all of us are sinners. My father would rant and rail against this very notion, saying ‘in no uncertain terms’: “I’m not a sinner. I’m a good person. I don’t bat a 1000, but I’m not a sinner.” What he didn’t realize--and his pastor apparently didn’t make clear--was that simply not batting 1000, that is, missing the mark, makes us sinners. That all of us have fallen short of God expects and demands of us, and so need His grace, mercy and forgiveness. But thanks be to God: these are available to all of us, to anyone and everyone who asks. Thanks be to God.

For much of Canada today, we are ‘nestled’ under the blanket of some rather extreme and nasty weather--a good day to hunker down rather than to face the elements. And also, a great time to spend time with God, and get His perspective on matters. Today’s psalm speaks on this, and especially on the unique, and penetrating, perspective that God has on our own individual lives. He knows us far better than anyone else, which includes even ourselves, and so it is always handy, and helpful, to see what He has to say.

Today’s psalm and meditation should give us all good reason to rejoice. In as much as this psalm was composed by David at a time in his life when he was facing great trials and tribulation, and quoted by Jesus on the Cross, it gives credence to the idea that we can turn to God no matter what we are going through--yes, even at those times when God seems absent or non-responsive. Both David and Jesus were firmly convinced that God would ‘come through’ for them, regardless of what they were feeling or experiencing at the time--which is a conviction that is rather appropriate for each one of us.