Happiness in the Unseen

There is an old saying, “Seeing is believing”.  Missouri is known as the “Show Me State”.   A line from a famous movie says, “Show me the money.”  Can all that visualization really make us happy?  Is that what it takes to be sure of something?  God would disagree.  Paul wrote, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”  (II Cor. 5:7)

In Psalm 2:12 we find that little word “blessed” again, the one that means happy.  “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.”  Trust and “show me” are two different things.  Trust is a handshake and a promise.  Show me is a cashier’s check.  Show me implies doubt.  Trust me is the essence of faith.  Our walk with Christ is to be one of faith.  The Father called us by faith to believe in the Son.  Trust is faith in action.

The phrase “Blessed is the man who trusts in Thee” is oft repeated in the psalms with variations.  In Ps. 2 it applies to believing in the Son as God’s Messiah.  It compares those who believe with those who rejected Christ.  The believers are happy; the rejecters are crushed.  Therefore, it says, believe.  In Ps. 34:8 the phrase is repeated, but this time it is used with a different emphasis.  This time the trust is not for salvation but in circumstances that challenge and confront our lives.  In Ps. 40:4 the phrase is used again.  Again it is used with a different emphasis.  This time the psalmist is waiting on the Lord.  Will he abandon the wait and choose a “show me” mentality?  He says “Blessed is the man who trusts”.  Whether it is for salvation or for our daily walk, or for dire circumstances or for those times where we just find ourselves waiting on the Lord’s will, “Blessed is the man who trusts in Thee” is the repeated phase. 

Edgar Stites wrote “Trusting Jesus”.  It is an old hymn that will refresh us every day as we look to Jesus in simple trust for all He has promised to us.

 “Simply trusting every day, trusting through a stormy way; even when my faith is small, trusting Jesus, that is all.”

“Singing if my way is clear, praying if the path be drear; if in danger for Him call;
trusting Jesus, that is all.”

Refrain:  “Trusting as the moments fly, trusting as the days go by; trusting Him whate’er befall, trusting Jesus, that is all.”

 

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.  Coming this month is my newest book Taking Care of Joe.  This is the story of a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient.  See how God adds His grace in the face of this horrible disease and how living a life of love is living a life NOT interrupted. 

You can now also find some of my selected devotions at www.FEBC.org. Just click "blog" on the menu bar.  You can also learn more about this great mission organization by reading through their website.