The Blessings of Trusting God Almighty
We live in dangerous and uncertain times. I’m not sure when the world was not like that, except in the period Jesus lived. There was relative peace then, known as the Pax Romana, the peace of the Roman empire, even in Israel.
But world peace has always been a relative thing. Even though there might be peace and quiet in one place, wars and turmoil might exist in another.
In our time of 2021 we are not so sure of world peace. Someone is always threatening someone else. Will China or Iran attack the United States? Probably not. But then the threat always see
ms to hang over our heads. Will Iran or another country attack Israel and stir up strife in the Middle East? Probably not because they know retaliation would be swift and merciless. But the threat is always there.
On 9/11/21 our nation remembered the horrific events of 20 years ago at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and honored all who died and all who offered heroic deeds. But we wonder—will terrorists ever strike the United States again with such catastrophic results?
And for the last year and a half we’ve had the Covid-19 pandemic to worry about. It’s not at all like the bubonic plague that swept Europe centuries ago and wiped out millions, nor does it even approach a smallpox epidemic. My own physician says it is similar to the flu, though greater in scope and intensity for some people. Still, I know Christians who are absolutely terrified that they will catch it and die!
Life, at least for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ and trust our great God, should never be lived in fear.
We have a great God—God Almighty.
When God first led me to become a minister in the Christian Congregational Churches, whose roots go back to the Mayflower pilgrims, I used to hear many ministers begin their prayers with a great crescendo: “Almighty God . . . !”
Yet how often do we trust our Almighty God and believe that he will see us through difficult times and circumstances?
It was way back in the days of Abraham that God appeared to him at the age of 99 and said to him, “I am God Almighty [El Shaddai in Hebrew]; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly” (Gen. 17:1-2).
Abraham did just that, one of the few known people in his time who never worshiped idols. And did God ever bless him!
It was not that Abraham never had another problem in his life. He created a few of them all on his own. But God continually rescued him and blessed him.
Because he trusted God Almighty.
Strangely, although this concept of an almighty God was passed down from generation to generation among the Hebrew people, they often had trouble believing it.
My father once told me that when I wanted something I wanted it now. I suppose most of us are like that. But because God has more patience than we human beings do, it does not mean that he isn’t going to act in our lives when it seems he isn’t.
Patricia and I recently experienced dire financial problems. It seemed like we were often near a meltdown, yet I knew—I knew—that God would help us. And he always did through friends until the day came when he delivered us completely.
Are you trusting God Almighty today? Are you waiting, perhaps impatiently, for God to answer your prayers? Or are you simply afraid of the world we live in when Christ told us not to be afraid (John 14:27)?
Even though it’s true that God does not always answer our prayers, or answer them the way we would like him to, it is still true that he will ever be God Almighty.
We can trust him to bless our lives, to hear our prayers, to wipe away our fears and tears, to heal us, to protect us, to meet our needs. God loves us and wants to bless our lives.
But he also wants us to walk in righteousness and trust him explicitly.
For he is the same God, the Father of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who told Abraham long ago, “I am God Almighty.”
The End