Trust God’s Promises

June 8, 2014 Background Scripture: Haggai 1:12 – 2:9 Lesson Passage: Haggai 1:12 – 15; 2:1 – 9 I vividly recall two exercises I participated in as part of my training to become a more effective manager. The first exercise was called “The Trust Walk” and the second exercise was called “The Trust Fall”. In the first exercise, I was blindfolded and someone led me around on a walk that involved different terrain. My sense of sound seemed to be immediately enhanced as a result of no longer being able to use my sight. I recall walking on pavement, grass, and even gravel. The shifting gravel under my feet made my sense of balance seem very awkward to say the least. I was led to various objects to touch—such as the side of a building, a swing set on a playground, and an automobile in a parking lot. The passing traffic seemed exceptionally loud as I was led next to a busy street. It was very uncomfortable to feel so vulnerable. The worse was yet to come. The Trust Fall did not involve a blindfold but it probably would have been easier for me with a blindfold. In the Trust Fall, I had to stand on an elevated platform with a number of people standing on the ground behind me. I had to close my eyes and fall backwards from the platform and trust them to catch me. Never before had those people seemed like such strangers to me. I recall wondering if it would be best to simply resign from the company and avoid all training that involved physical activities from that point forward. The fall from that platform felt like it lasted forever. After it was over, I wondered if any of them thought about letting me hit the ground. I don’t know if I trusted them any more after that than I did before. Through those two exercises over twenty years ago, I became acutely aware of how vulnerable a person feels when they must do something that depends totally on others for their security. Our lesson today reminded me that seeing others struggle in their dependence on God is very different than when you have to do it for yourself. In today’s lesson, Israel was challenged to trust God’s promises. As the Jews worked to rebuild the temple, they were disheartened because it did not measure up to the temple built by Solomon. Moreover, Solomon was beyond rich and they were recently returned from bondage and obviously did not possess Solomon’s resources. But God promised them that His spirit was still among them and He would cause the temple they built to be more glorious than that of Solomon. This was difficult for them to accept seeing that their resources were limited. Solomon had access to whatever resources he needed because his father David provided for him before his death. God reminded them that all of the silver and gold in the world belongs to Him and He can choose to use it as He pleases and where He wants to. God wanted them to use the resources they had and to do the best they could with it. All that we will ever have to work with is what God gives us. We should not compare what we do with the work of others who appear to have more resources. If we are good stewards of what God entrusts us with, God will bring glory to the work. We should always trust God’s promises. Robert C. Hudson May 28, 2014