Heart Tracks - God In The Gaps

      Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust."  Psalm 40:4  Two much used words in the church are "Lord," and "Trust," but what do those words truly mean to us?  How do we understand them, and to what degree do they show forth in our lives?

     Most everyone who would consider themselves a follower of Christ has no problem calling Him "Lord," yet to what degree is He Lord in our lives?  Does He reign over every aspect of them?  Are we yielded to His Lordship, His leading, and His will in all parts of our lives?  In our approach to Him, is it with the intent of getting Him to bless our agenda, with the intent of getting Him to see and do things in the manner that we think they need to be seen and done?  Does the name "Lord" truly signify our relationship with Him, or is it just a title we give Him, an honorary designation?  We give Him a certain amount of respect, but in the issues that really matter, the way chosen depends upon our wishes and understanding and not His.
     How we view Him as Lord will then determine our level of trust in Him.  If He is truly the Lord of our lives, then it is His command that we trust Him with every aspect of our lives.  Physical, material, emotional and spiritual.  Yet, when it comes to all these, do we trust Him completely, or do we have what Chris Tiegreen calls a "God and....." kind of trust?  As Tiegreen puts it, "We usually trust God and financial resources, medical research, counselor's advice, popular opinion, or any other avenues of assistance."  It is not that the Lord cannot work through any of these other avenues, but at the very root, foundation of our lives, do we trust in Him alone?  Or, do we really have a " God and," trust?

    Many would call this reckless, and they would be right.  It is reckless, and this is the exact kind of faith He calls us to.  Such faith can only be placed in someone who we know beyond doubt is Lord.....of all of our life.  Believing Him, trusting Him in a "God and," kind of way will never yield a reckless faith.  It will always be a cautious one.  It will always need some kind of proof or assurance beforehand.  He will need to prove Himself as Lord before we will trust Him as Lord.  In the beginning of our walk with Him, He will prove Himself, many times over, but growth in His grace and in the knowledge of who He is will demand that at some point in our walk with Him, we must follow Him even into the depths of darkness and know that even there He will show Himself as Lord.  That even there, we can trust Him completely.  There will be no "and" because in that place, no "and" can be found.  His Word tells us that such hope, such trust, "will not disappoint."
    Tiegreen asks this question of us.  "How pure is your trust?  Are you using God to fill in the gaps around your other sources of help?  Do you have a plan B if God doesn't intervene in the way you want Him to?"  Do we?  If we do, we will not know the deep abiding peace of His Presence and wholeness.  There will always be a gnawing fear and unease.  This is the result of living in the gaps....the gaps between living a life that knows Him as the Lord of all Trust, and one that doesn't.  Are we living in Him.....or in the gap?

Blessings,
Pastor O