Is It Possible to Trust God Too Much?

It used to be that you could say, “I’m walking by faith, not by sight. I’m trusting the Lord for each new day.”

It seems that today though, even in Christian circles, that’s not being smart enough. That statement today is a display of ignorance and recklessness. It seems that your trust in the Lord must now be put through a litmus test of the other person’s truths and sources of truth, the weights and measures of “is it blind (ignorant) trust, informed trust or common sense trust?” Now in addition to trusting a sovereign, omniscient God with your comings and goings, you must do your part to ensure the peace of mind of others who do not trust God in the same way or with the same measure…with the same “recklessness” with which you do.

If the apostle Paul’s faith were to match today’s litmus test, how might his letter to the Philippians have to be changed? What measures should he have taken to ensure that he not find himself rotting in a Roman prison? Was he unnecessarily risking the lives of Timothy and Epaphroditus to send them back to Philippi, knowing the church was under persecution?

Philippians 1:18-30 ESV
What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, [19] for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, [20] as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. [21] For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. [22] If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. [23] I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. [24] But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. [25] Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, [26] so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. [27] Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, [28] and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. [29] For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, [30] engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

To what extent will we put the mission on hold for the sake of something that we cannot control for ourselves or others? And for how long? At what point is it a waste of the most precious resource given to man (time) to stay bunkered in isolation from an unseen enemy to prevent ourselves and others from hypotheticals and “what if’s”?

These are questions that I wrestle with every day as I face decisions, not only for myself and my wife, but for the welfare of the church family that God has entrusted me to steward. In a sense, I am responsible for protecting life. If my church is a Biblical church, according to Psalm 23 they look to me for leadership, guidance and where to step when they can’t see where they’re going. On the other hand, I’m to teach them to be good stewards of time, energy and resources, to remind them that today is their only guarantee, that wasting today to protect the pretense of tomorrow is sinfully foolish, according to James.

Proverbs 27:1 ESV
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

James 4:13-17 ESV
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— [14] yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. [15] Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” [16] As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. [17] So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

I don’t have all the answers. I wish I did. Some days, I don’t even know if I’m asking the right questions. It’s often said “there’s a fine line between faith and foolishness”. For me, the line is not only fine…but fuzzy.

I just want to be found faithful…not fearful.

I want to be found working…not wasting or waiting.

I just want to be found faithful…not fearful. I want to be found working…not wasting or waiting.

Tweet

Jesus is coming soon.

Like a bride waiting for her groom
We’ll be a Church ready for You
Every heart longing for our KingWe sing “even so come”
Lord Jesus, come
Even so come
Lord Jesus, come