New Brunswick
Bible institute GOD’S PURPOSE
OUR PASSION
OPEN BIBLEBULLETIN VOL. 60 NO. 6 JUNE 2019
FOCUS BY MIKE GRANT
FOUR Simple Words There are four words that can make all the difference in the world for our lives. Notice that I said they CAN make all the difference. These words aren’t big, difficult words and they’re not hard to pronounce. They’re also quite simple to define; in fact, a child can understand them. What are these words? Trust in the Lord. Recently, I found myself in a situation where I had two options - trust God or stress, worry, and panic. I’m sure you can relate. I was just sitting in my office at the time, when I stopped what I was doing
and opened my Bible to the wellknown passage Proverbs 3:5-6. Like me, you’ve heard umpteen dozen messages, devotionals, etc. on these simple yet profound verses. I also thought of several illustrations that I’ve either heard or used myself on trusting the Lord. As I thought about these verses, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a picture of an indigenous man who recently heard the Gospel for the first time. This man grew up in an animistic people group where constant fear ruled his life. Until recently, he had never heard the Word of God. A tear came to my eye as I sat there rejoicing over the joy I saw in my brother’s face! The Word of God had changed this man! The holy, inspired, inerrant Word of God had transformed him! The Word of God
had displaced this man’s fear and his face and eyes now gleamed with joy! He went from fear to faith – a simple result of trusting the Word of God. I then looked at my Bible. I have the Word of God sitting right beside me! I didn’t have to wait for a missionary to come to my land and learn my language; I’ve had God’s Word my whole life. Now, the question is whether or not God’s Word is IN my life. Is my life governed by joy or by fear, by peace or by worry? Proverbs 3:5 says to, “Trust in the Lord with ALL thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.” The Word of God contains so many stories of God’s faithfulness and so many passages challenging us to fear not, to rest, and to be of good cheer. Yet it is so easy to worry, stress and panic. Why do we? Simply put, we’re not trusting the Word of God. Think back to the fall of man. What did Adam and Eve do? They leaned on their own understanding. That’s exactly what we’re told not to do. Just like the picture of the indigenous believer clearly shows, trusting God brings peace, joy and hope and erases worry, stress and panic. It’s really quite simple, isn’t it? 1