Walk the Talk | Authentic Faith
Trusting God Each Day
The pleasure dominated, pleasure-seeking world we live in is filled with people who live their lives with no reference to God. If we don’t guard ourselves from cultivating a friendship with the world, we can suddenly find ourselves living in a similar way, going about our lives each day with little or no reference to God or His will.
Persevering faith is demonstrated by daily:
1. Acknowledging God’s sovereignty over our lives (vs. 13-16)
- God is sovereign over life and death (vs. 14, cf. Gen. 2:7; Job 14:5; Ps. 139:16)
- God is sovereign over our daily activities (vs. 15, cf. Isa. 45:7; Ps. 139:1-5; Acts 17:24-28a; Col. 1:16-17)
Are you living as a “practical atheist,” never referencing God or His will in your daily life? Do you “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5)? Do you submit to Him and acknowledge Him “in all of your ways” (Prov. 3:6a)? Live and plan like your life is short and spend it humbly (not bragging or boasting), acknowledging God’s sovereignty over your life.
2. Obediently following the will of God (vs. 17)
- Growing disciples take seriously:
a. Sins of commission – willfully and proactively disobeying what God has commanded us not to do
b. Sins of omission – willfully and proactively disobeying what God has commanded us to do (vs. 17)
How strong is your desire to obey what you know God has told you to do and not to do? Jesus said, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn. 14:15) and “you are my friends if you do what I command” (Jn. 15:14). In today’s text, what is the will of God that we are to obey? We are to acknowledge His sovereignty over our lives and obediently do the good we know we ought to do.
3. Confidently trusting in the justice of God (5:1-6)
- God is an active defender of the poor and oppressed (cf. Ps. 12:5; 72:4; 82:1-4)
- One day, the Lord, the King of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, will return and establish true justice on the earth (cf. Rom. 12:19; Ps. 96:13; 98:9)
While waiting to be reunited with Christ, are you like the rest of the world, hoarding your wealth, cheating others, or being self-indulgent in your pursuit of pleasure? Are you hurting the lives of others at the expense of your own personal gain? “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Tim. 6:17).
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