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“Trusting God” by Jerry Bridges Book Review
By Basil Rehill | March 6, 2011
Jerry Bridges poses the question, in “Trusting God”, “Why is it easier to obey God than to trust Him?” He proceeds to discuss the issue of trusting God by looking at the foundation of this concept, God’s sovereignty. He then proceeds to address god’s wisdom and then His love. He makes a compelling argument that God is in control of everything in creation. God is in control of His people, the rule over the nations, over nature and even our responsibilities. Whether we make wise or foolish decisions, God is sovereign in those decisions and uses them to accomplish His purposes.
I must admit that I found it difficult to admit God’s sovereign control over the nations given the foolish decisions that some nations and leaders have made over the years. Mr. Bridges points out that Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” It is God who determines whether a man’s plans succeed as he intended or go a much different course. He also points out that God determines who rules in government. We don’t always understand what God may be doing by allowing a certain leader to hold office, or to lead a country in a particular direction. What we do know is that God has His reasons. We must trust that God knows far more than we do about such matters. While this is a difficult concept to swallow it opens one up to possibility of God’s infinite wisdom and sovereignty in a very humbling way. If I can learn to trust God in the decisions made by the leaders of this country then I can truly seek God in prayer for their blessing. I do not have to agree with our leaders to pray that they will make godly decisions.
Another area that Jerry Bridges sheds light on is grief and natural disasters. God causes all things to happen. In Lamentations 3:38 it says, “Do not both adversity and good proceed from the mouth of the Most High?” God causes the rain to fall on the good as well as the wicked. He causes the sun to shine on both. He causes tornados to run into both. Looked at from my perspective, it may seem senseless. Looked at from God’s perspective there is a beauty in the purpose that he intends. I can only look at the countless stories I have heard about people accepting the Lord in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans to see that God had plans that I would never have thought of. Mr. Bridges rightly points out that God is truly in charge of the seeming good and bad. We are limited by our human understanding when we look at so called natural disasters.
God’s wisdom is greater than the wisdom of any of our adversaries according to Jerry Bridges. No matter who or what our adversary is God’s wisdom is greater. That is comforting news for many of us. We don’t need to worry about the wisdom of Satan or some world leader; God will bring about things according to His greater wisdom that we would never imagine. This also makes God’s ways incomprehensible to humans. In Romans 8:29 the Bible says that we are being conformed to the likeness of His son. All things that happen in our life are designed to bring about the changes in us to become more like Jesus Christ. God in His infinite wisdom uses all of man’s foolish decisions, all his selfish actions and all his sinful desires and actions to change each of us into His likeness. It boggles my mind to think that the death of my pet rabbit can have such noble purposes for the Lord most high. That is what Mr. Bridges is hinting at. God uses all things no matter how small in His wisdom for His purposes.
I must admit that I am tempted to doubt God’s love for me at times. I have wondered where He was in my times of trouble. If God is all-powerful, all knowing, and ever-present how could he allow some things to occur such as the tsunami in Indonesia. Jerry Bridges points out “To question the goodness of God is, in essence, to imply that man is more concerned about goodness than God is…” And in Job 1:21 Job says the lord gives and the lord takes away. God in His perfect love allows things into our lives and this world that demonstrate His love for us. He uses what may seem like a tragedy to reveal himself to us in our time of most need. He demonstrated His love most vividly when His son, Jesus died on Cavalry. It is difficult to truly understand Just how deeply God loves us. I cannot imagine allowing my son to die for the evil ways of another. Yet that is exactly what God has done.
Throughout “Trusting God” the author challenges us to stretch our understanding of God beyond what we humanly can; To look at the big and the small things in our life equally as the tools that God uses to bring about the changes that He deems fit; To look at the things that happen in our life, the good and the bad, as tools for change. I must admit that my mind was truly challenged in many areas. I must admit that my view of suffering has truly been changed by the author’s views. He has provided me with many ways that I can apply this understanding to my day-to-day experiences. He has helped me to see how I can help others to see God’s hand in the ordinary things of life. He has helped me to see the truth that bears upon each of us in a new light. He has helped me to see God more clearly and more humbly. I now know how truly inadequate human wisdom is in dealing with life’s challenges. I would recommend this book for anyone seeking to know God more clearly.
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