Of Trust

Recently our small group Bible study, as previously mentioned, is reading through David Platt's Radical.  The book, in general, seems to be a complete reiteration of thoughts and feelings I have had for quite awhile regarding our current church culture (not to say the culture in my particular church, but in North American churches as a whole) (side note: I wish there were a more precise translation for the Spanish term estadounidense [meaning "of/from the United States], because that's really the word I'm wanting to use, but I digress . . .).  Platt's work emphasizes rescuing our Christian faith from the grips of the American Dream - a trap most all of us fall into.

Our assignment for the week was to read chapter 3, which really brought up some feelings I had actually written a blog about more than two years ago (note, if you follow the link you will find my first routinely written-in blog, so enjoy).  This chapter discusses the extraordinary power of God and the church's general failure to rely on such to grow their congregation, tending to rely, instead, on our own power and that of our preacher, band, facilities and programs.  Not that God can't be in those, but we need to make sure He is and we're not running ahead with our own "good ideas."

He mentions in this chapter the life of George Muller (if you haven't heard of him before, do some investigating, it's amazing!) who ran a large orphanage operation based solely on support provided by God - with no fundraising done on his part.  Platt quotes Muller's journal:

"The first and primary object of the work was (and still is:) that God might be magnified by the fact, that the orphans under my care are provided with all they need, only by prayer and faith without anyone being asked by me or my fellow-laborers whereby it may be seen, that God is faithful still, and hears prayer still."

(further side note: I've gotta love this man for his perpetual over-use of commas - a plight from which I also often suffer)

In the margin of the our copy of the book I wrote: "Flies in the face of 'God helps those who help themselves.'" (Again, for further reading on my thoughts on this phrase, visit the aforementioned blog.)  This man seems to get it - the "it" here being what I think so many self-sufficient Christians are missing - a full reliance on God.  A reliance that doesn't say, "I've got to get to work on my own if I want a blessing from God." But a reliance that knows God helps those who have made a purposeful decision to not help themselves but, instead, to trust fully in His provision and His almighty power (which, yes, often calls us to action, but only to action guided fully by His calling).

"Lord I come to You
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace
That I've found in You
And Lord I've come to know
The weaknesses I see in me
Will be stripped away
By the power of Your love

Hold me close
Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side
And as I wait
I'll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with You
Your spirit leads me on
By the Power of Your love"  - Geoff Bullock