Trust In God At All Times
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Brother Felmar Serreno: You’re listening to the podcast version of God’s Message magazine. Today’s topic: “Trust In God At All Times”.
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Brother Felmar: No one in his right frame of mind wants to live a miserable life. Every sensible person aspires to have a good fortune. In his quest for that good life he so desires, man ought not to trust in his own wisdom (Proverbs 3:7 Easy-to-Read Version). For “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death”. (Proverbs 14:12 New King James Version). Nor should he put confidence in other men (Psalm 118:8), in riches (Proverbs 11:28), or in violence (Psalm 62:10).
Rather, man must place his complete trust in the Lord God (Proverbs 3:5-6). God declares:
I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.
[Jeremiah 29:11 Good News Bible]
Trusting in God wholeheartedly is what King David exemplified and advocated:
I depend on God alone. I put my hope in Him. He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; he is my strong protector; he is my shelter. Trust in God at all times, my people. Tell him all your troubles, for he is our refuge.
[Psalm 62:5-8 Good News Bible]
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Brother Felmar: Sadly, many are taking matters into their own hands, instead of placing their confidence in God. What is baffling is how people—alas, even those who claim to be religious and profess to believe in God—turn to astrology, tarot cards, lucky charms and amulets, palmistry, crystal balls, and superstitious beliefs for guidance on how to achieve success and a good fortune.
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Brother Felmar: Feng shui, an ancient Chinese belief that the way a house is built or the way that objects are arranged affects one’s success, health, and happiness, from dictionary.cambridge.org. This has gained a huge number of followers who wish good luck by ensuring that their house faces the “right” direction and their furniture are arranged “correctly”.
Then, there are those who regularly consult their horoscope—a description of what is going to happen to a person based on the position of the stars and planets and the time of his birth—for guidance. Others keep lucky charms or amulets—objects that are believed to protect against evil, disease, or unhappiness. Still, others espouse superstition, like avoiding things that portent “bad luck” such as walking under a ladder, saying ‘knock on wood’ to stave off misfortune.
The Bible warns man against placing his trust in astrologers, charms, and fortune-tellers.
Keep all your magic spells and charms; you have used them since you were young. Perhaps they will be of some help to you; perhaps you can frighten your enemies. You are powerless in spite of the advice you get. Let your astrologers come forward and save you—those people who study the stars, map out the zones of the heavens and tell you from month to month what is going to happen to you. They will be like bits of straw, and a fire will burn them up! They will not even be able to save themselves—the flames will be too hot for them, not a cozy fire to warm themselves by.
[Isaiah 47:12-14 Good News Bible]
Brother Felmar: Instead of relying on these unbiblical beliefs and practices, man should trust in God by means of prayer. But merely believing in praying to God is not enough to be heard by Him. Man must ensure that he is counted among God’s servants whom He has set apart:
But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him.
[Psalm 4:3 New King James Version]
Brother Felmar: Man needs to be chosen first by God to be heard by Him, because his relationship with his Creator has been severed since he fell into sin (Isaiah 59:2) and became His enemy (Colossians 1:21). Man can regain his right to call to God by being cleansed or redeemed with Christ’s blood (Hebrews 9:14, 22). The ones purchased with Christ’s precious blood is the Church Of Christ. We can find that in Acts 20:28 in the Lamsa translation.
Thus, man needs to be in the true Church—the Church Of Christ—to enjoy the privilege of praying to God and being heard by Him. In the face of life’s myriad problems, Church Of Christ members must trust in and pray to the Lord at all times.
To find more articles like these, get your copy of God’s Message Magazine from a member of the Church Of Christ. You can also find the podcast version on incmedia.org. Thank you for listening. I’m Brother Felmar Serreno. God bless.
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