THE SECRET OF FAITH AND TRUST

We grieve that, at times, our faith seems to be flimsy, no more than a passing mist. Even worse, we fear that God will not answer our prayers because of this faith deficiency.

However, we are in good company. Even the Apostles seemed to lament their lack of faith:

• The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. "Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" (Luke 17:5-10)

However, according to their Master, they were asking for the wrong thing - a greater amount of faith. Jesus responded with two parables. The first demonstrated that even with the smallest amount of faith, they could move mountains and trees.

Well, if it wasn't the amount of faith, what was it that would enable them to move mountains? It was a matter of understanding their relationship with the Mover - that He is the Worthy One and they are unworthy and undeserving. He is the only One worthy of trust, while they deserved absolutely nothing good from Him, even a "thank you," no matter what their accomplishments.

Meanwhile, they thought themselves quite worthy of the blessings of God. They had reminded Jesus of how much they deserved from Him because they had sacrificed everything to follow Him (Matthew 19).

However, Scripture condemns self-trust. Why? For one thing, we are unworthy of the trust we place in ourselves. For another thing, it robs God of the glory that only He deserves:

• Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:5-8)

Consequently, the more we trust in ourselves, the less we trust in God and usurp for ourselves the glory to which God alone is entitled. And, in the end, we will foot the bill:

• He [Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14)

When we trust in ourselves and our righteousness, we exalt ourselves to a glory we do not deserve, to a glory that only God can give us as an undeserved gift. Ultimately, we rob God.

Paul had to learn the lesson of God-trust the hard way:

• For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)

Only in God can we trust. Consequently, Paul even credited God for his labors:

• For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:9-10)

Why does God get all the credit? Because He deserves it all! When we understand this, we understand the secret of faith and trust - the understanding of our unworthiness and our Lord's complete worthiness. Without this understanding, we grow proud when we see that God is answering our prayers.