Chapter 22
Trust
The man who walks before God with a perfect heart is not only perfect in his loyalty and in his obedience to God, but he is also perfect in his trust. He may not, and often does not, at the time, understand why certain things are allowed to take place, or certain trials and difficulties and testings to come, but, conscious that his Heavenly Father knows all, he believes that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose.”
There are two things about that scripture of which he is sure. First, he knows that he loves God. He remembers the time when this was not so; when he had no love for God, when God held no place in his affections; when his mind was set on the things of this life, when business or wealth, and how to accumulate it, or pleasure and how and where to find it, were the things he lived for; but having been aroused to his condition, and giving up and abandoning sin and all worldliness, he found salvation, and now instead of places of amusement, he loves the house of God; instead of seeking to please men, he seeks to please God; that which once filled his mind no longer satisfies him, but in God he finds joy and peace, and in His service he takes delight. His whole life and all his ambitions and desires have been completely changed, and now that which he once loved he loves no more, and the God he did not love he now loves. He knows that he loves God. No one could do for him what God, through His son, has done for him. Where sin did abound, grace doth much more abound, and knowing that his Heavenly Father careth for him and knows what is best for him, he trusts Him with his whole life. And while much may take place that he does not understand, and testings come even after he has tried to do his best, yet he trusts it all with Him.
“Sorrows dark may cloud the skies, and our tears like rain may fall;
But we’ll stop and dry our eyes, remembering God is over all.
And all things work for good, if we only love the Lord,
And we’ll understand it better bye and bye.
“Though our faith is often tried when we go to God in prayer;
And we feel we’ve been denied the very things we asked Him there;
We will neither doubt nor sigh, for some day He’ll tell us why,
And we’ll understand it better bye and bye.”
Second, he knows God called him, that he is one of the called ones. It was God’s Holy Spirit that called him to forsake his sins, called him to repentance; it was God that freely pardoned his many transgressions; it was God who gave him His Holy Spirit; it was God, through the blood of His Son, that cleansed his heart; it was God that put a new song in his mouth, even praises unto the Most High; it was God who said, “Walk before Me.” He has no more doubt of his being one of the “called ones” than he has that he is a living soul, and as God has called him to walk before Him, he believes that whatsoever happens to him, it is with the knowledge of his Heavenly Father, and he believes it is for some good: that it is in the purpose of God. Though he may not understand at that time just why he is thus placed, yet on he walks, perfect in his trust.
Like Job, he may see his property fade away, but his trust is not in the wealth of this world. Those dear to his heart may be taken from his sight or engulfed by the tomb, and affliction sore and hard to bear may fall upon him, and even those who stood by his side may turn against God and try to persuade him to do likewise, saying, “Curse God and die.” But, in the midst of it all, he will reply, “Yea though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” With a childlike confidence, he goes on trusting in God. He is often misunderstood by his friends and they may make him he butt of ridicule, but he endures a “seeing Him that is invisible.”
From our scrapbook we clip the following:
“Years ago a great Frenchman of science was crossing the Arabian desert under the leadership of an Arab guide. When the sun was setting in the west, the guide spread his praying-rug down upon the ground and began to pray. When he had finished, the man of science stood looking at him with scorn, and asked him what he was doing. He replied, ‘I am praying.’ ‘Praying! praying to whom!’ ‘To Allah, to God.’ The man of science said, ‘Did you ever see God?’ ‘No.’ ‘Did you ever hear God?’ ‘No.’ ‘Did you ever put out your hands and touch God and feel Him?’ ‘No.’ ‘Then you are a great fool to believe in a God you never saw, a God you never heard, a God you never put out your hand and touched.’
“The Arab guide said nothing. They retired for the night and rose early the next morning, and a little before sunrise they went out from the tent. The man of science said to the Arab guide, ‘There was a camel around this tent last night.’ With a peculiar look in his eye, the Arab said, ‘Did you see the camel?’ ‘No.’ ‘Did you hear the camel?’ ‘No.’ ‘Did you put out your hand and touch the camel?’ ‘No.’ ‘Well, then you are a strange man of science to believe in a camel you never saw, a camel you never heard, a camel you never put out your hand and touched.’ ‘Oh, but,’ said the other, ‘here are his footprints all around the tent.’ Just then the sun was rising in all its Oriental splendor, and with a graceful wave of his barbaric hand, the guide said, ‘Behold the footprints of the Creator, and know that there is a God.’ The untutored savage had the best of the argument.”
Such confidence in his Heavenly Father has the man who is perfect in his trust, that he is sure he can do anything God calls him to do. No task is too great, no journey too long, no duty too irksome. If God orders him to do a task, lie is sure of being able to perform it.
It is said of George Mueller that, wishing to put up a new building in order to care for the thousands of orphans coming to him, he began praying for one hundred thousand dollars, the mount needed. When the first dollar came in he said, “God has answered my prayer and I am sure the remainder of the amount needed will come.” He prayed and patiently waited, and in due time the full amount was in hand, and then he began the work and rapidly pushed it to completion.
A gentleman traveling in this country tells the following:
“When I first came to America, thirty-one years ago, I crossed the Atlantic with the captain of a steamer who was one of the most devoted men I ever knew, and when we were off the banks of Newfoundland, he said to me: ‘Mr. Inglis, the last time I crossed here, five weeks ago, one of the most extraordinary things happened, that has completely revolutionized the whole of my Christian life. Up to that time I was one of your ordinary Christians. We had a man of God on board, George Mueller of Bristol. I had been on that bridge for twenty-two hours and never left it. I was startled by some one tapping me on the shoulder.
“It was George Mueller. ‘Captain,’ he said, ‘I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.’ This was Wednesday. ‘It is impossible,’ I said. ‘Very well, if your ship can’t take me, God will find some other means of locomotion to take me. I have never broken an engagement in fifty-seven years.’ ‘I would willingly help you. How can I? I am helpless.’ Let us go down to the chart room and pray.’ I looked at that man of God and thought to myself, What lunatic asylum could he have come from? I never heard of such a thing.’ ‘Mr. Mueller,’ I said, ‘do you know how dense this fog is?’ ‘No,’ he replied, my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God, who controls every circumstance of my life.’ He got down on his knees and prayed one of the most simple prayers. I muttered to myself, ‘That would suit a children’s class where the children were not more than eight or nine years old.’ The burden of his prayer was something like this: ‘O Lord, if it is consistent with Thy will, please remove this fog in five minutes. You know the engagement you made for me in Quebec Saturday. I believe it is your will.’ When he had finished I was going to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray! ‘First, you do not believe He will, and second, I believe He has, and there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.’ I looked at him and George Mueller said this: ‘Captain, I have known my Lord for fifty-seven years, and, there has never been a single day that I have failed to gain an audience with the King. Get up, Captain, and open the door, and you will find the fog is gone.’ I got up and the fog was gone.
“You tell that to some people of a scientific, turn of mind, and they will say: ‘That is not according to natural laws.’ No, it is according to spiritual laws. The God with whom we have to do is omnipotent. Hold on to God’s omnipotence. Ask believingly. On Saturday afternoon, I may add, George Mueller was there on time.”
Those who walk before God with perfect hearts are perfect in their trust.
“Oh, for a faith that will not shrink,
Though pressed by every foe,
That will not tremble on the brink
Of any earthly woe!
That will not murmur nor complain
Beneath the chastening rod,
But, in the hour of grief or pain,
Will lean upon its God.
“A faith that shines more bright and clear
When tempests rage without;
That when in danger knows no fear,
In darkness feels no doubt,
That bears unmoved the world’s dread frown,
Nor heeds its scornful smile.
That seas of trouble cannot drown,
Nor satan’s arts beguile.”