September 11

“God regards us as His children. He has redeemed us out of the careless world and has chosen us to become members of the royal family, sons and daughters of the heavenly King. He invites us to trust in Him with a trust deeper and stronger than that of a child in his earthly father. Parents love their children, but the love of God is larger, broader, deeper, than human love can possibly be. It is immeasurable. Then if earthly parents know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more shall our Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

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There is that word, ‘trust’. The invitation, not the command, to trust has come at the beginning of our relationship with Him. We are not expected to trust some way along the line but to begin the trust even at the beginning of the relationship.

How would that happen? A relationship with God does not usually begin in isolation, a relationship with God is not meant to continue in isolation. Pastor Israel Leito was teaching at an event in Wolverhampton and pointed out that the relationships found in the church are what eventually keep a person as a committed member. People who develop a certain number of relationships in their first year as a Christian are those who stay as healthy contributing members of the Christian community.

We learn what trust in God means as we spend time with other Christians who share with us what God has done for them. As we hear people describe how God has taught good things we learn that God can be trusted as a wise guide for our own life. As we see that God has provided healing to those around us we learn that God can be trusted as the kind of God who provides even for our healing. As we note members of the community responding in obedience and being blessed for that obedience we learn to trust that when God asks us to do things He will support us.

After all, don’t we read that ‘God gives us everything we need for life and godliness’?

If that is so, and it is, then we can trust that as we begin the day by asking for the Holy Spirit then we can have that Gift. We should also recognise the great importance of the Christian community around us, and the benefits of being in a Small Group. Perhaps you could talk to your Pastor about creating just such a group? You could ask by clicking here