Genesis 21:1 Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.

Throughout the Bible it keeps pointing out that God is true to His word. Some people might claim that’s a trivial thing, but actually it is of the utmost importance. If God were not trustworthy, we would have no real hope or peace, much less assurance. However, He is fully trustworthy, and we had better believe it. We have trouble trusting God because we ourselves are so untrustworthy, and in our thoughts we pull God down to our level. Just because we think of Him that way doesn’t change how He really is! The better we come to know Him, the more we trust Him. As Paul said, “For I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to keep what I’ve committed to Him until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12) That too is part of becoming “as a little child.” (Mark 10:15) Small children believe whatever you tell them. In an adult, we call that being gullible, but if we lose the ability to believe and trust God, we have suffered a huge loss indeed. That’s why absolute honesty is such an important principle. Those who know they are God’s children should be, within the limits of their ability, as trustworthy as He is. That’s not to say that teasing or playing jokes is sinful in itself, but even there we need to be very careful. If people never know when we are joking, they will have trouble trusting anything we say.

That last point is one where I need to be careful. I don’t think puns invite mistrust (though they do sometimes invite confusion!), but deliberately misleading someone, even as a joke, is very risky. People tend to look at me as God’s representative. My life should give them an accurate picture of what He is like. I know I have no wisdom or power to accomplish that on my own, but the better I know Him, the more He will manifest His character through me. To know Him better, I need to choose to trust Him, in little things and in big. As a pastor, I am called to encourage others likewise to trust and obey Him. The more we do that, the better we will understand His absolute faithfulness, as we walk in all that He has promised.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You also for the further amplification of the message You started giving me yesterday. Thank You for the clear word yesterday that I am supposed to share that message this coming Sunday, rather than what I had been intending to do. Help me trust You enough to be fully responsive to whatever You say to me, whether it agrees with my previous plans or not. Keep me from using that as an excuse not to plan, but keep me flexible and available to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!