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Pastor's Blog November 26, 2020
"Rejoicing in the Lord IV"
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How do you think about the difficulties of life, especially compared to your trust in God? Do you think of them as necessary elements of life - things that happen, whether you like it or not, and that are just part of life? Or perhaps you consider them to be troubles that plague life, and you would rid yourself of them if only you could find the way? Have you ever thought of life difficulties as a set of troubles that you...borrow? It's an intriguing concept, and one which our friend Ellen uses twice in "Steps to Christ": in comparison with trusting in God, Ellen talks about "borrowing trouble."
First, Ellen points out the spiritual truth that trust in God is the gift and life disposition to which we are called. Since God is trustworthy and invites us each day to trust him, any burdens, cares, or perplexities we encounter in daily life are only the intrusion of "borrowed troubles" - they are real, but they primarily distract us from the fact that we have a "pitying, loving Saviour ready to hear all our requests and to be to us a present help in every time of need" (86; 1977 edition).
Second, Ellen is clear on the fact that some people simply like to focus on life difficulties: "some are always fearing, and borrowing trouble" (86). They are surrounded by the tokens of God's love and blessings toward them, and they are the recipients of daily reminders of God's goodness and trustworthiness as he sustains and cares for them (86). Despite this, they remain unbelieving, ungrateful, and distrustful regarding their friendship with Jesus and heaven's desire to see them flourish (86).
So how do we avoid cultivating "borrowed trouble" to ourselves and focus on trusting God, which is the natural situation that God has intended for us all along? Ellen reminds us to focus on Jesus: "Jesus is our friend" (86). Because of this, we can rely on him to tell us the truth about our life circumstances and to be true to his love for us (87). Since trust already defines our relationship with God, let us be encouraged by the fact that Jesus is already our friend - and not merely hopes to be our friend someday in the future. And let us continue to trust the God who daily shows himself trustworthy as he takes care of us.
Friends, I invite you to be grateful that Jesus is your friend and that we don't have to borrow trouble for ourselves.
(*) Steps to Christ, Chapter 13—Rejoicing in the Lord, 1977 edition
God Bless.
Pastor Nathaniel Gamble
