No Substitute For Trust

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:28  


No matter where people look or what someone might say, there is no substitute for trust. I am reminded this morning of a quote that I read regarding the trials Job faced in the book of the bible bearing his name. It said, “Answers are nothing more than substitutions for trust.”

If you recall the story of Job’s life he seemingly went from one trial to the next, a man God said was blameless and upright, who over just a short period of time had everything stripped away from him leaving him wishing he had never been born. Job was hurting and he was confused and he wanted answers from God as to why. Can you relate? For Job, every day seemed to add to the growing list of things to confront the Lord with was growing. Job had lots of questions and he knew God had the answers. And yet what we learn from the story of Job is that even if God was to answer all of Job’s questions about pain and suffering in this life were answered, the answers wouldn’t satisfy Job for the simple fact he wouldn’t understand the answer.

We forget too soon everything God does is with eternity in mind, to complex for our little brains to comprehend so God offers us something better than just an answer for our why questions, He offers us the end result of what we all wish the answers to our questions will give us, and that is peace.

God offers us peace today, loved one, even when we don’t understand why things are going the way they are. Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” In other words, when you and I accept the fact that God is in control, and that God is good all the time and though we don’t understand what He is doing nor why and decide to trust Him instead of tying to figure it all out, God will give us peace, His peace Jesus said and that’s far better than anything else we could ever want when we are going through trials.  

Yet I get it, we are human, and we all want answers even if at times the answers are wrong, we will accept them because not having an answer we believe is worse and not knowing drives us crazy. You can prove it. Tell someone you heard something that you aren’t supposed to tell them but you really want too. Build it up by telling them its something they simply won’t believe when they hear it. In other words, spark their curiosity then back out, and say “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you” and then change the subject. I have yet to meet someone who just says, “That’s Ok” and lets it go. On the contrary, they will 9 times out of 10 come right back with an emphatic plea, “Oh no you don’t, you have to tell me now or I’ll never be able to rest”

For the most part, we all get it. Having no answers means we have to trust, and trust is a struggle for many of us, especially when it comes to trusting God. I might not be able to get away and go to the beach right now so I have tried to make the best of it by doing some channel surfing instead. I was watching the Karate Kid, now a classic. Watching it reminded me of what I hope will speak to you today, God is in control and though we don’t understand His ways, His plans and purposes in the end all work out for His glory and our good, to them that love God.  

My favorite scenes in the movie are when Mr. Miyagi offers to teach a kid named Daniel karate so he can compete in a karate tournament against a group of local bullies who harass him and attack him using karate techniques they receive at a local dojo run by an abusive egotistical sensei.  

Mr. Miyagi’s training regimen is unconventional for sure. Mr. Miyagi has Daniel who Mr. Miyagi refers to as “Danielson” paint the what appears to be endless fence around Mr. Miyagi’s house using a very specific technique. And when he finishes painting the fence Mr. Miyagi has Danielson sand the new decking around his backyard using another specific technique and finally Mr. Miyagi instructs Daniel in washing and waxing a number of Mr. Miyagi’s cars using circular motions wax on in one direction then wax off in another direction.  

Daniel paints the fence from morning to night, sands the decks for days on end and washes and waxes the cars well into the night. In his fatigue and frustration of not understanding all the “why’s” to What Mr. Miyagi has Daniel doing, Daniel has a melt down and accuses Mr. Miyagi of taking advantage of him instead of training him for the upcoming competition.

If we are honest we’ve all questioned God’s means and motives in our own lives at times. If you have ever shook your fist towards heaven and cried out in your own heart, “God, why me?” You aren’t the first person to do so and I would bet today around the world people are doing that very same thing forgetting the words of the prophet Isaiah, (Isaiah 55:8-9) "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Daniel doesn’t realize that all the labor intensive exercise he is doing is actually building underdeveloped muscles he needs to become a champion karate competitor.

The happy ending of the movie takes place at the karate tournament where it all comes together for little Danielson as Mr. Miyagi is able to instruct his young protege from the sidelines yelling out all the chores that Mr. Miyagi had Daniel do which turned out to be defensive techniques to block punches All those hours of manual labor using different motions Daniel learned that what he had thought was just a form of child labor, turned out to be the very skills needed to win a karate competition.

Though the Karate Kid is just a fictional story it still serves as a great reminder to you and me who walk with God by faith. The Lord uses everyday life as our training ground for battle’s we all face as it’s in every day life where we face our most challenging trials and our biggest temptations.

And just like Danielson had Mr. Miyagi in his corner giving instructions and encouragement, we have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit in our hearts providing all we need to win the day! The key to our victory is trust. Trusting God, listening to Him even when we don’t understand all the why’s of what’s happening in our lives and in the world today. Keep this in mind today, loved one, “When you can’t trace God’s hand you can trust His heart!”


I’ll close with this. Jesus own words from John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

A good word for today wouldn’t you agree?

Because you are family…

Because you are loved…

God bless!