Aug 25, 2015
Are You Willing to Trust God – an 8 Minute Message?
Dennis Coleman
On Tuesday during Conference, Dennis Coleman (Shiloh SDB church) gave another 8-minute message of the week. Here is what he shared:
During this year’s General Conference, Pastor Scott Hausrath led a Bible study where he taught us how to develop steadfast trust. I believe for us to say we have steadfast trust we must be willing to trust God with a specific situation.
And so we are confronted with a question:Are you willing to trust God with ______________? (Fill in the blank.)
I found myself faced with having to answer this very question sixteen years ago, just after my wife Julia and I learned we were expecting our first child. After receiving the good news, I let Julia talk me into accompanying her to the doctor’s office for what was supposed to be a routine checkup. At first all went as planned. We found ourselves laughing and joking with the staff until Julia’s doctor suddenly made a strange face…one you do not want to see any doctor make. She explained how Julia had developed a condition which was affecting the pregnancy. More often than not, she told us, this condition leads to a woman losing her baby.
Suddenly I found myself in a position where I needed to comfort my wife while still trying to process what I had just heard. As a good Christian husband, I assured Julia that God would take care of this pregnancy and that the baby would be just fine. She asked if I truly believed what I was saying. My faith was on trial and Julia was not the only one asking a question. God was asking if I was willing to trust Him with the life of my son. With the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts, Julia and I were able to say yes to God. We were willing to trust Him with our baby…a decision we shared with our doctor.
It turns out God had provided a doctor who is a believer. Upon hearing our decision she joined us in prayer and worship. We took comfort in the fact that our doctor knew that God is in control. Yes, she still used her training to support the pregnancy over the next few months, but she did so in service to the Lord. Our doctor understood that God did not need her help. What He wanted was a doctor who was willing to trust in Him. He wanted the same from us as parents as He continued to watch over the child as we approached our due date.
Fourteen days before the baby was due, Julia called to tell me that the doctors were going to induce labor. During something called a stress test the baby’s heart rate went down when it should have gone up. We would spend the rest of the day in a hospital. However, nothing happened until our doctor, who was scheduled for the night shift, arrived and joined us in prayer. Those of you who came to the Sunday night session of General Conference were able to hear Joshua as he played bass with the Shiloh Praise Band! God is directing Joshua’s path. In many ways he has shown me more about trusting God than I have shown him.
Some of you reading this are dealing with difficult situations. Perhaps your children are on the wrong path. Perhaps your finances are not where you need them to be. Maybe the problem is more spiritual: doubts about what you should believe or even struggles with a temptation which you thought you had defeated. Are you willing to trust God with whatever specific difficulty you are facing? Are you willing to trust God with _________? (Fill in the blank.)
