Trust in the Lord
By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.
05/11/2021
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7)
My family and I lived in Houston for about fifteen years. We have many fond memories of our time there, but one thing we do not miss is the sweltering humidity. Being on the Gulf coast, we not only had to deal with sauna-like conditions but also the threat of tropical storms and hurricanes. I recall one particularly severe storm that caused us to lose electricity at our home for about 30 hours. It did not take us long to realize how dependent we have become on modern conveniences.
This was before the age of smart phones, and when I went to bed that night I had to use my watch as an alarm to wake me up because my electric clock radio was of no value without power. I had never used the alarm feature on my watch, and as I was setting it, several thoughts ran through my mind. “I hope this alarm is loud enough to wake me up. I hope it works properly. What if it does not go off and I oversleep?” I must have laid there for several minutes worrying and fretting about my alarm until I finally dozed off. For years I had relied on my clock radio to wake me up. For that one night, I was forced to trust in another source. Could it be counted on to wake me up? As it turns out, it could not. I overslept and was late for work!
Sometimes the Lord allows us to face circumstances that call us to venture out of our comfort zone and trust Him more earnestly. Of course, our trust should be in the Lord at all times. Yet, the truth is, we are prone to trust our own resources more than we should. Life has a way of forcing us to trust God the way that storm caused me to trust a seldom-used watch alarm. Trusting the Lord, however, never disappoints.
King David knew a thing or two about trust. Both as a shepherd and a king, he recognized the importance of trusting in the Lord. On one occasion he wrote, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). For David, matters of trust reached far beyond morning wake-up alarms. He had to trust God in daily life for things like the protection of his flock and, later, as the leader of Israel, the protection of an entire nation.
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, the familiar phrase “trust in the Lord” appears twice in chapter two. First, he says, “I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly” (v. 19). Then, a few verses later he says, “I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly” (v. 24). Although we use the phrase “trust in the Lord” quite often, it is surprisingly uncommon in the New Testament. In fact, these two uses of the phrase in Philippians are the only places in the New Testament where those words appear in that precise order.
Paul uses two different words for “trust” in these passages. The first one has the idea of “putting one’s hope in” or “expecting.” The second one means “to rely or depend on.” In other words, Paul’s firm expectation was that he and Timothy would each be able to make a visit to the Philippian church soon. He was relying on the Lord to bring this about.
Notice that Paul’s trust in this case was not for some major world-changing event. He was trusting the Lord for the simple things in life. What are you trusting the Lord for today? What are some of your earnest desires? Have you asked the Lord about them? Trust in the Lord. Unlike finnicky watch alarms, He never fails.
05/11/2021
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7)
My family and I lived in Houston for about fifteen years. We have many fond memories of our time there, but one thing we do not miss is the sweltering humidity. Being on the Gulf coast, we not only had to deal with sauna-like conditions but also the threat of tropical storms and hurricanes. I recall one particularly severe storm that caused us to lose electricity at our home for about 30 hours. It did not take us long to realize how dependent we have become on modern conveniences.
This was before the age of smart phones, and when I went to bed that night I had to use my watch as an alarm to wake me up because my electric clock radio was of no value without power. I had never used the alarm feature on my watch, and as I was setting it, several thoughts ran through my mind. “I hope this alarm is loud enough to wake me up. I hope it works properly. What if it does not go off and I oversleep?” I must have laid there for several minutes worrying and fretting about my alarm until I finally dozed off. For years I had relied on my clock radio to wake me up. For that one night, I was forced to trust in another source. Could it be counted on to wake me up? As it turns out, it could not. I overslept and was late for work!
Sometimes the Lord allows us to face circumstances that call us to venture out of our comfort zone and trust Him more earnestly. Of course, our trust should be in the Lord at all times. Yet, the truth is, we are prone to trust our own resources more than we should. Life has a way of forcing us to trust God the way that storm caused me to trust a seldom-used watch alarm. Trusting the Lord, however, never disappoints.
King David knew a thing or two about trust. Both as a shepherd and a king, he recognized the importance of trusting in the Lord. On one occasion he wrote, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). For David, matters of trust reached far beyond morning wake-up alarms. He had to trust God in daily life for things like the protection of his flock and, later, as the leader of Israel, the protection of an entire nation.
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, the familiar phrase “trust in the Lord” appears twice in chapter two. First, he says, “I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly” (v. 19). Then, a few verses later he says, “I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly” (v. 24). Although we use the phrase “trust in the Lord” quite often, it is surprisingly uncommon in the New Testament. In fact, these two uses of the phrase in Philippians are the only places in the New Testament where those words appear in that precise order.
Paul uses two different words for “trust” in these passages. The first one has the idea of “putting one’s hope in” or “expecting.” The second one means “to rely or depend on.” In other words, Paul’s firm expectation was that he and Timothy would each be able to make a visit to the Philippian church soon. He was relying on the Lord to bring this about.
Notice that Paul’s trust in this case was not for some major world-changing event. He was trusting the Lord for the simple things in life. What are you trusting the Lord for today? What are some of your earnest desires? Have you asked the Lord about them? Trust in the Lord. Unlike finnicky watch alarms, He never fails.
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