Yes – But do you trust me?

Yes, but do you trust me?
Trust is one of the big buzz words today, isn’t it? Open a book, read the newspaper, listen to a talk show, watch the news … trust is a factor. Remember when it was the used car salesman that had the reputation for being shady and underhanded? Today that stereotype extends to anyone from the sidewalk to the boardroom. We are stunned to hear about criminal acts committed in secret by someone we’ve respected. Unbelievable, we say.  How could that happen? Trust is a factor.
Sometimes, I think I throw God into that category. No, not that his acts are criminal, but that his acts are done in secret where they are hidden and undetectable until he chooses to reveal them. Because I don’t understand circumstances of the moment, it’s easy to start questioning. Do you see what’s happening down here God? It’s so obvious that this situation is messed up. I know what it says in James 1:2-3 “Consider it pure joy, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” I get that, but …. Then God says, yes, but do you trust me?
Our pastor has opened the book of Isaiah, chapter 40 and shared some incredible truths about the power of God that I have read before but never with such astonishing revelation.  Have you ever prayed and prayed and kept praying for someone to be cured of an illness, or for a friend’s personal tragedy to be resolved, or begged God to comfort someone who suffered a devastating loss? Have you ever felt like you exhausted every shred of energy praying and God is silent behind the curtain? Isaiah 40: 28 reminds us that while we are worn down, God is still working. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”
Yes, but do you trust me?
I tried to take good notes during our pastor’s messages because he read from Isaiah 40 and suddenly the power and outreach of God became much clearer to me. Maybe you don’t humanize God like I do, but sometimes I need a reminder that God is infinite. No, I mean it. I-N-I-F-I-N-I-T-E
Did you know that 70% of the Earth’s surface is water? Did you know that amounts to roughly 139 million square miles? I think (please don’t quote me) that equates to 312 cubic miles of water. It doesn’t really matter if I got the numbers right. What matters is that I trust the God who is described here in Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?”
In the attached video, you can see billions and billions of stars in the heavens.  Isaiah 40:26 “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAL48P5NJU
Did you catch that? Billions upon billions of stars – everyone named by the creator – not one of them is missing. Yes, but do you trust me?
Remember those things God does behind the scenes? God is taking care of every detail. Jeremiah 23:24 says “Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.”
We have to let God be God. He asks us to trust him not with just the simple, but with the complicated, convoluted, heart wrenching, impossible.  We question, we argue, we plead and that’s OK. What do we do with it though? Do we also worry, bargain, and allow the foundation of our faith to sag? Remember these words in Isaiah 45:3 “I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”
Yes, but do you trust me? – God