Trust in God - In God we Trust

 

Reflection 24^th January 2021 (Psalm 62)

 

As I sit down to write this (18th January 2021), the inauguration of President Biden in Washington is a few days away. By the time you read this it will have taken place and I sincerely hope and pray, that it will have gone off without incident. We all know from what we saw happen on 6^th January, that there are some in the United States who seem intent on causing unrest – or worse.

We’ve holidayed in America on a few occasions. And in 2014, I spent a few weeks on an exchange of ministry in Mooresville North Carolina. Therefore, I like to think I have some understanding of the USA but how can one ever know the mindset of such a vast country with a population approaching 350 million? But the sense I’ve got from my visits, and from my observation from this side of the Pond, is that nominally, the people of the USA are more “Christian” than here or indeed many European countries. In 2019, a survey by “Pew Research Center” found that 65% of Americans claim to be Christians. (My emphasis.)

Of course, we all know that identifying oneself as a Christian is quite different from being a follower of Christ. Nonetheless, the Christian faith is never far from the surface in the USA. In fact, every time you spend some money in America, you’ll be reminded of this. For on American currency is the official motto of the USA “In God we trust”.

This brings me to the passage of scripture I’d like us to think about today – Psalm 62. (If you look at the Bible readings at the top of the Preaching Plan, you’ll see that it suggests Psalm 62: 5 – 12, but I think to make sense of the Psalm we need to read it all.) The theme of the Psalm ties in closely with the reading from Mark 1: 14 – 20 also suggested for this Sunday, – that God’s reign is near

¹⁵ ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’ Mark 1: 15 NIV

The Psalmist expresses this idea by calling on people to trust God

⁸ Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8

And for the Psalmist, the reality of God’s reign means the creation of a new world with new priorities and values. (Just like Jesus means in the Mark passage.)

For the Psalmist, in order for each person to find peace, in order for the world to find peace, we have to trust God. For the Psalmist the biggest hinderance to trusting God, and hence finding peace, is clearly wealth. (This is why in a way I find “In God we trust” on a US dollar somewhat ironic to say the least.)

The Psalmist reminds us

¹⁰ Do not trust in extortion
    or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
    do not set your heart on them. Psalm 62:10

The problem is not so much money itself; rather wealth lures us into thinking we are self-sufficient, autonomous, self-ruled and we do not need God.

If wealth is our starting point, we will not find inner peace the Psalmist is stating. And of course, it is a point Jesus made on many occasions too.

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19: 23 – 24

As I’ve said, the message of this Psalm, and the message Jesus is preaching in Mark 1: 14 – 20, are similar. Jesus says to the men who would become disciples “Come follow me” Mark 1:17 And the underlying meaning of this is that they  must trust Jesus in order to follow him. (As must we.) Just as the Psalmist is saying – trust and follow. Why else would the disciples have left everything behind unless they trusted Jesus?

Jesus was the perfect embodiment of what the Psalmist was saying, because Jesus always trusted in God and he prayed (see Mark 14: 32 – 36). This total trust in God by Jesus seemed like weakness to the disciples. (See Mark 8: 31 -33 where Peter tries to turn Jesus away from the cross.) But the cross and resurrection have created the new world in which God’s reign can come in. A world in which to be powerful is to be like a child (Mark 10: 13 – 16). A world where to be great is to be the servant of all (Mark 9: 33 – 37.) A world where to know peace is to bear a cross (Mark 8:34) and to experience abundant life means to give oneself away (Mark 8:35.)

For the Psalmist, writing hundreds of years before Jesus, we are faced with a decision. In whom or what do we trust? For the Psalmist, the answer is clear

⁸ Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8

Trust in God at all times.

Of course, the alternatives always seem more compelling. They always have. Which of us hasn’t thought about what it might mean to be rich? Which of us hasn’t thought that if we were wealthy, we would find security? The alternatives to trusting God seem so much more compelling. But they are empty and incapable of giving life in all its fulness. John 10:10

Martin Luther was once asked what he would do if he knew that the world was coming to an end tomorrow, and he said: "I would plant an apple tree." In other words, Luther, trusting in God's gracious, unmerited mercy would live life just as he had been living it. And John Wesley had the same attitude. When John Wesley was asked the same thing, being an obsessive-compulsive type, he said that he would arise at 4:00 AM, preach at 5:00 visit the sick at 7:00, go to communion at 8:00...etc., until the questioner realized that that was exactly what Wesley had planned to do tomorrow anyway!

Because we believe that God is like Christ, we can dare to live in faith and hope and love now; trusting God for whatever the future holds, because we believe that God holds the future, and that God's Name, and God's Nature, are love.

Power belongs to you, God,
¹²     and with you, Lord, is unfailing love’; Psalm 62:12