Patient Trust
Psalms 145:13-16 (NIV UK) —
‘Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.’
There’s so much to unpack in just this short passage. Today, I’d like to home in on the encouraging words that God is ‘trustworthy in all he promises.'
The Christian journey has been described as one of ‘patient trust.’*
Although there are times in this journey where we see instant answers to prayer - and we should be expectant that God can answer prayer instantly - often we need to believe that God is working even when we don’t see it. Perhaps you’re in a situation right now where you are having to place patient trust in God’s character. For example, we might currently be experiencing difficult circumstances due to the cost-of-living crisis. Because of this, we may find it difficult to trust the verses in Psalm 145 that tell us that God works to ‘satisfy the desires of every living thing’ and gives them ‘food at the proper time’.
I find it encouraging that David, who writes in this Psalm about God’s trustworthiness, understands what it's like to face circumstances where you have to practise patient trust. After all, this is someone who was forced to go into hiding from people trying to kill him (1 Samuel 23:14) and lost his best friend in battle (2 Samuel 1:1-12). However, David chose to trust in God despite these hard circumstances, and when we look back over his life, we see clearly God’s faithfulness to him throughout these trials.
Even if we know that God is faithful, it can be hard to believe it for ourselves. Fortunately, as we reflected yesterday, God is compassionate! He understands that when we face hard situations we can struggle to trust him but, if we ask him, he will give us the grace to do so.
Prayer - Father, today I want to have faith that you are trustworthy and keep your promises. Help me to trust you when things are hard. Thank you that your compassion will never end.
*Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Day by Day, 2018.