March 1, 2003     "To Live Without Risk is to Risk Not Living"

I recently had the pleasure of skiing in Minnesota with our youth group.  One of the pleasures of this trip (and life) are the memories.  Playing "Pitch" for hours on the bus with a MacGuyverish makeshift card table.  Packing into Kwikie Marts while Kraibo filled up the bus.  Eating Elk at Cabella’s.  Watching Slamball and eating cheese pizza (a favorite for me and Kurtis).  Watching ReidP, Fry, and Tim show their basketball skills at BBC.  Playing "21" with Cat, Weethers, and Hebes.  Watching Kamikaze Dan grace the slopes.  And of course, props to Keith for stopping the ski train trying to go through the tunnel.  P.S.  Oh, and I somehow forgot to wake Roo up to eat breakfast…my bad!

To the point… I was riding up the ski lift and couldn’t help but noticing that our chair was hanging only by a small piece of metal connected to the piece of wire pulling us up the mountain.  I asked one of the guys I was riding with, "I wonder if one of these chairs has ever crashed to the ground?"  (Could be an interesting witnessing tool, eh?)  But to experience the thrill of skiing, I had to trust the lift.  My thoughts quickly ran to a central concept in the Christian’s life… TO BE THRILLED BY GOD, ROB, YOU MUST TRUST HIM.  Are you involved in some weary kind of devotion?  The truth is, that God is probably as weary of it as you are!  Do you want to be thrilled?  You may lack unflinching TRUST.

Most of us have little need to find new insights into theology.  What we most desperately need to do next is wildly trust in the things we’ve heard for so long.  We must act as a small child toward Him and totally depend on and submit to Him and His plan for our lives.  Trust.  Unwavering trust is a rare treasure to God.  

Trust is the confidence and conviction that God is ravishingly GOOD.  That He wants us to experience the fullness of life… pleasure forevermore!  Trust however, is often evidenced and perfected in (humanly-speaking) troubling life-events… sickness, unemployment, disease, failure, hunger, rejection, persecution, questions, fear.  Some of the greatest heroes of the Bible were people who had a reckless trust in God, but their trust was bolstered by painful perplexity:

-         The heartbreak of Abraham on Mount Moriah – read Genesis 22

-         The terror, loneliness, and failure of David – read 2 Sam. 15-18 and Ps. 63

-         The dogged pains of Paul – read 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

-         The horrors of Job in the land of Uz – read Job 13:15

Trust is not an option.  It is neither some kind of extra one might grow into.  It is the hub of the wheel.  If your wheel is rattling or stopped, check the hub.  Jesus bluntly demands it in John 14 "Trust in God… trust also in Me!"

The disciple who trusts…

Is the 17 year-old son of an unemployed father who is unafraid of the unknown because he trusts in the goodness of the Father for his father.

Is the 14 year-old girl with extreme physical pain who does not simply, mentally concur with theology but in practical ways confides in the Shepherd’s tender-loving care, regardless of the emotional pressure or physical pain.

Up against insurmountable obstacles and blind to how it’s all going to turn out, it’s the senior guy who calls out to God, "I keep nothing back as I surrender everything to you.  I am confident that YOU are my answer and my greatest good!  Lead me!  I’ll go where you want."

Is the 16 year-old beautiful girl who is no longer weighed down by the pressure to be accepted by others, rather she is captured by God’s acceptance and desires only the applause of One.  She has fixed her eyes on her Maker, Husband, Lover.

Is the 15 year-old boy who used to feel unloved and expendable but decides in every moment of life to rest in the voice that says, "I knit you together before you entered this world… I know your hair-count right this second… you are important to me… I love you.  Follow Me."

Is the 15 year-old girl who has always looked for relationships to satisfy her needs but begins to throw away all the self-made crutches of dependence and begins to lean on God because He is more than enough to satisfy her.

"Put your trust in Yahweh, be strong, let your heart be bold

put your trust in Yahweh.”  Ps. 27:14

"Happy is the man who trusts in Yahweh."  Ps. 40:4

"When I am most afraid I put my trust in You,

in God whose word I praise,

in God I put my trust, fearing NOTHING;

what can me do to me?"  Ps. 56:3-4