Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus?

Brief Reflections on 1 Samuel 12

In 1 Samuel 11 we see Saul, the king the people wanted, step up and actually lead the people successfully. He really shows he is their leader. And he does it well.

But then 1 Samuel 12 comes along and Samuel, their leader and prophetc, confronts the people and their attitude. He defends his time as leader of Israel. He then recounts history about how when the people got in trouble they called to the Lord for help and the Lord provided them with a judge that lead them. This actually is the whole repeated cycle in the book of Judges. The people call out for help and God provides. This is the way it should be, but it’s a challenging way. Each time trouble comes you have to call to God and trust that he will come and help.

I have to raise my support to do the work I do (campus ministry). I am not a superstar of fundraising. In fact for many years I’ve been underpaid because of the lack of funds. I’ve taken classes to learn the right way to do fundraising and I’ve put those practices into practice. Sometimes it seems to help other times not. So because I fail so much at raising money, I pray a lot for our needs. And I have a list stories were God has provided when our funds were gone. Two of the cars I still own are examples of this:

1986 Nissan truck. I’ve had this truck for something like 18 years now! It’s not nice looking but it does what we need it to do. This truck has been a workhorse for us. Many times our “other car” – the family car, has died and we have turned to this truck as our only car. The Nissan came to us in a miracle: Cynthia and I went to the California coast to teach at an IVCF fellowship there. After teaching we went up the coast for a weekend in a friend’s house in Cambria. We brought our new bikes and had a wonderful time enjoying the coast. On Sunday we loaded up and headed home. But on the way home the car actually caught on fire and we had to return to Cambria. Now we are stuck in a small beach town. Cynthia had to get home on Monday and some friends on the coast loaned us a car for her to get home. I stayed in Cambria with our burnt car hoping to get it fixed. I had just my bike to get around (which was actually fun!) On Tuesday I had a meeting at my church back at home that I was going to miss so I called the church and told them my story and that I was stuck on the coast. They replied “Wow, we just had a call from Gary and he has a truck that he has decided he want to sell half his listed price to someone in ministry.” That same day I had got news that our car was beyond repair. So Cynthia came and got me. We still needed a loan to buy this truck so I made arrangements with Gary to meet me at the bank to apply for a loan. Gary showed up and said he didn’t want me paying interest to a bank so he wanted us to make 6 months of payments to him. A great answer to prayer – but it doesn’t stop there! A month later, after our first payment, I saw Gary on campus and he said his taxes worked out better than he expected and he didn’t want me to make any more payments. The truck was ours! And now 18 years later the truck has needed very, very few repairs and is still running (just not stopping so well). We had a need, God answered.

1996 Honda Accord. Much more simple story here. Our minivan was needing a lot of repairs and our family of 4 was relying on my Nissan truck more and more often. We began praying for a new vehicle. A person in our community group, who knew our need, had just accepted a transfer to Georgia that included getting a new vehicle. So he contacted me and gave us his Honda that he had taken great care of. That Honda is still our main family car!

In both cases we had a need, we prayed, and God answered. And I have other stories like this for computers, money, vacations. . . . And yet I still often wonder how much easier life would be if I was rich (won the lottery? Won McDonalds monopoly game? Mysterious rich supporter drops a million dollars off on the front step? ) In reality I’m saying to God, can’t you just give it all to me know so I don’t have to rely on You?

That’s what Israel wants when they ask for a king. They have a history with God that when they needed help they called to God and He provided. But now they want a king so he can always protect them. They want security of a king so it’s his job to provide and he will be to blame. And that is the sin that Samuel mentions in 1 Samuel 12:17. The sin of not wanting to trust in God.

They said “Give us a king so we will be safe, even though you have made us safe many times before”. I say “Give us a million dollars so I can provide for my family without worry, even though God has provided for us many times before.” Both are sin.

Let us all repent and put trust God before we trust man made security.

Amen.

Follow up: After I wrote the above I was moved to sing the song “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus” so I grabbed my dulcimer and started to sing. But after awhile I thought – “what a hypocrite I am singing this song. I don’t think it’s “sweet” to trust in Jesus. I think it’s difficult”. However it is sweet when God provides (like in my vehicle stories). But then I saw the last line of the song: “Oh for grace to trust Him more”. It is sweet when God provides and I need more grace to find the sweetness in waiting. I then sang a new song we are doing for our Satsang: Hum Bole Prabhu Yeshu nama – I cry out to the name of the of Jesus. And then the last line: Jai Yeshu Nam, Jai Yeshu – Victory in Jesus name, Victory in Jesus. What a wonderful worship time: the sweetness of trusting in Jesus followed by singing about Victory in Jesus’ name. May we all trust more often and celebrate the victories more loudly!