Trust or Mistrust? A Lesson From Paradise - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2024

You are good, and do good.
Psalm 119:68 NKJV

Trust or Mistrust? A Lesson From Paradise
About 6,000 years ago, God placed Adam and Eve in a wonderful environment in paradise where they lacked nothing. But although they had the loving care of their Creator before their eyes every day, they doubted His love for them and consciously decided to act against His will. They wanted to be on the same level as God—to be like Him—and to make their decisions independently of Him. Does this sound familiar to you? Is it not often the case that we fear that God wants to withhold from us what we think is good? Sometimes we are simply afraid that God's will does not coincide with our will, and so we hesitate to surrender the reins and let Him take the lead.

Yet today, compared to the first people, we have many more reasons to trust that God has only the best plans for us. Why? Because He proved His love in an incomparable way at Calvary! What does faith conclude from this? "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32). If He has not withheld from us the greatest and dearest Treasure He had, He will give us everything else that is good for us—and He knows this much better than we do! Is it not rather irrational and inconsistent if we on the one hand trust God for the eternal salvation of our souls, but on the other hand have a certain mistrust that He will also take care of the daily things and that we therefore must, as best we can, provide security for ourselves?

The Lord Jesus rested in the love of His Father. The daily awareness of this love was the source of His joy (Jn. 15:10-11). He trusted Him at all times and therefore could say "Yes, Father" (Mt. 11:25-26 esv), even in difficult times. Day and night He turned to God for guidance and involved Him in every decision of His life (cf. Ps. 16:7-8).

-- Philip Svetlik