You can trust Him

    There once was a man who one day decided to go to church. This man was not really religious. In fact this man had not darkened the door way  of a church since he was a boy. However one of his co-workers who he was good friends with had invited him. So the man decided to go out of respect for his friend. 

    The man sat there as the service went on. Nothing unusual went on that day. They sang songs and some of them the man remembered from childhood memories. The preacher preached on what it meant to truly surrender to Jesus Christ. The preacher shared how to be a true follower of Christ will mean a great deal of changes and hardships that you will have to face. 

    As the sermon drawn to a close the pastor bowed his head and prayed a simple prayer. The pastor prayed "O Lord, you know we can trust the man that died for us" The prayer was simple, but it was the one thing that got this man's attention. 

    As the man headed home, the pastors message flooded his mind. He began thinking about all the challenges and sacrifices that surrendering to God might mean for him. He began to think about all the things He might have to give up, things he might have to do without. He started to think about all the things that he would have to change or do differently. 

    As this man kept thinking about all the changes it caused him a great amount of stress and fear. He thought to himself "there is no way I could do this". I can't be a true follower of Christ, if it means I will have to make certain sacrifices to do it. How will I ever manage making all the needed changes in my life to be a true follower of Christ. Then there is the issue of messing up and the possibility of failure."

    Then as he continued meditating on this in his room. He was once again remembered those words the preacher prayed  at the close of His sermon. "O Lord, you know we can trust the man that died for us"  The man thought for a moment and said "If I can't trust Him to help me to make those changes then who can I trust?" 

    It was right there and then that the man decided to settle it once and for all. He realized that no matter what challenges and changes he would have to face to follow God that he might have to make. He could make them by trusting in the one who died for Him. He understood that he could trust Jesus with every concern in life that he might have to face. 

Following the Lord is not always easy. Sometimes it involves some sacrifices that we may not want to make. It might mean that we will have to do something we don't want to do. It may involve risks that we rather not want to take. 

· I am sure it was not easy for Abraham to leave his home town of Ur to take his family on a nomadic adventure in his old age. We know how Moses viewed God's call on his life to emancipate the Israelites in Egypt. When Jonah was given the task of going to Nineveh, He spent time and money to go on a ship in the opposite direction. This list could go on and on. My point is this, many times living for God is not always easy. Many times its the exact opposite. 

    There are many times people receive a call from God in some way. They feel led to do something or be involved in some ministry. There are times when the Holy Spirit leads us to go out and talk to someone. You may feel God is leading you to share your faith or invite someone to church. It maybe that you might feel led to write a letter or send an email. It might just be that God is calling you to do something way out of your comfort zone, like go on a mission trip. 

·    The moment we feel led to do something that is when the fight comes. That is when the enemy attacks us with all of the challenges this will mean and all of the "what if's". We begin to come up with excuses and reasons why we can't do it and why we shouldn't do it. 

    However this is not the time to give in to these worries, fears and excuses. Instead this is the time we needed to remember that "We can trust the one who died for us" In fact if we can't trust Him then who in the world can we trust. It might be scarry to go on a mission trip, or talk to someone, or serve in some ministry. However we need to put our faith and trust in Jesus and know that he will be with us. He can provide and protect us through all the trials we might face as we seek to Follow Him.  

Listen to what Paul tells us in (Romans 6:13) 

Do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yield yourselves to God, as one alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

So Trust me on this....You can trust Him.