For He Can Be Trusted

BY Bailey T. Hurley

I had never known what it was like to really trust God, until the moment I had nothing left to grasp on to except God’s enduring promise to provide “redemption in abundance” (Psalm 130:7).

Since I was a teenager, I had been faithful: reading my Bible, attending church, and serving in various ministries. Throughout the years I wondered if Scripture memory and prayer really mattered in my life. Would it be okay if I just opted out of these spiritual disciplines for a while? Would it really impact my life if I didn’t read my Bible every day? I was like the men in charge of sailing Paul’s ship (Acts 27:9–11): Could I ignore God’s warning and keep sailing on without obeying Him? 

But then the storm hit.

My marriage was not as healthy as I had believed it was. And one fateful night, I had the choice to either give up or trust God to restore my marriage. In a moment of crisis, God’s Word flowed from my mouth. Scriptures I didn’t even know I had retained were brought to memory. Instead of shutting down, the Spirit empowered me to pray, pray, and pray. I was now witnessing the work God had been doing all those years of faithful discipleship. He equipped me with the armor of God when I needed it most.

Though the enemy tried to knock us down, I had never felt more like the tree planted by water described in Jeremiah 17:8:

“…it sends its roots out toward a stream,
it doesn’t fear when heat comes,
and its foliage remains green.
It will not worry in a year of drought
or cease producing fruit.”

The fruit produced in our marriage from this moment on was only by the grace of God. We both knew the goodness of Jesus’s death and resurrection—to reconcile all wrongs—and it gave us the confidence to continue our marriage under the guiding hand of God. The storm was rocky, but it did not destroy us. 

When life’s storms come, we can encourage those around us like Paul did to the sailors: “So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me” (Acts 27:25). God has told us that despite the storms, He will work all things for our good and His purposes (Romans 8:28). Even when a situation is not so easily redeemable, God has told us He will still use it for good. “Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God” (2Corinthians 4:15). 

God can be trusted. He never leaves our side. We’ve read about God’s faithfulness in Scripture. We may have witnessed God’s faithfulness in the lives of those around us. But we experience God’s faithfulness every day through the life He has given us through His Son, Jesus. When life feels like it’s the worst, we know Jesus is still at work making all things new.