{"id":678,"date":"2007-05-18T13:01:35","date_gmt":"2007-05-18T13:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2007\/05\/trust.shtml"},"modified":"2021-05-29T02:45:33","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T02:45:33","slug":"trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2007\/05\/trust.shtml","title":{"rendered":"Trust"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the middle of a much longer and thoughtful post on trust<\/a>, Jared at the Thinklings<\/a> wrote this:<\/p>\n

Hebrews 11:1
\nNow faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.<\/em>
\nThis conviction of things not seen isn’t just about trusting God to use<\/em> our mess for glory; it’s also about trusting He’s in control of that mess and that there really is a higher order in place to which the mess is subject.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That one made me, and still makes me, go hmmm ….
\nThe first part – that faith is more than trusting God to use our mess – and the last part – that there is a higher order at work than we can see – I’m completely on board with. The idea that God is bigger than our mess and that He knows what’s happening and can see much farther and wider than we can is absolutely key to making it through the tough times with one’s faith intact.
\nIt’s the middle part – that God is in control of my<\/em> mess – that makes me scratch my head. Jared’s a Calvinist and believes, I think, that God is in direct control over everything. If I understand that right, that includes his writing his post, it’s exact wording and my writing my response (does that make God responsible from my typos?). Jared and I have been ’round and ’round on this a couple<\/a> of times<\/a> before and he’s even won me over a bit<\/a>.
\nHis quote here takes me back to that age old question, how much control over the world does God really execute? I will not disagree with Jared that God is ultimately in control. Where I have disagreed is that it seems to me that God has allowed us some freedom, some sovereignty, over our own lives and destinies. We wield that sovereignty to our own peril as we are not equipped to direct our own affairs in this world saturated in sin. Nonetheless, God has afforded us that opportunity. Given us enough rope to hang ourselves, if you will.
\nYet every time I come back to this question, I find both answers lacking. A God that is directing and determining every action seems uncaring and distant. Yet so does a God who’s sitting back and watching, waiting for us to ‘get it’. Is there a middle ground, or perhaps some other off-to-the-side ground where God operates?
\nWhat do you have to say about this?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the middle of a much longer and thoughtful post on trust, Jared at the Thinklings wrote this: Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, theRead More Trust<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrust - salguod.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2007\/05\/trust.shtml\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trust - salguod.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the middle of a much longer and thoughtful post on trust, Jared at the Thinklings wrote this: Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, theRead More Trust\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2007\/05\/trust.shtml\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"salguod.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-05-18T13:01:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-29T02:45:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Doug Schaefer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@salguod\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Doug Schaefer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2007\/05\/trust.shtml\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2007\/05\/trust.shtml\",\"name\":\"Trust - 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What is faith, after all, but believing in advance what will only make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "God and Church"","block_context":{"text":"God and Church","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/god-and-church"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":568,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2006\/10\/hebrews_11.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":678,"position":1},"title":"Hebrews 11:1-31","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"October 10, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Hebrews 11:1 - The EV uses the words 'assurance' and 'conviction'. Makes me think of the previous post. 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No longer slowed down by those little wheels or constrained to take corners straight up,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "God and Church"","block_context":{"text":"God and Church","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/god-and-church"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":963,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2009\/08\/romans_930-1021_-_by_faith.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":678,"position":3},"title":"Romans 9:30-10:21 – By Faith","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"August 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm nearing that 'Place Where I Can Stand' mentioned in my last (non-FfF) post. More on that later, first, on with my study of Romans. Romans 9:30-33 - See here, the Gentiles attained something they did not pursue. How? 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