Does God have YOUR back or YOU back?

Readings today included Proverbs 1-3 and Romans 7. Reflections below are based on the S.O.A.P. method.

Scripture verses that caught my attention today: Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

Observation: In light of Jesus, this passage takes on all new significance. In the Old Testament, trust in God pretty much meant assuming that if you were faithful, you could trust that God would provide for you, be it with good crops, spouse(s?) that could conceive, military victories, peace on every side, etc. If you were not faithful, you could trust that you would receive little or none of the above.

But the message and example of Jesus in the New Testament takes trust to a whole new level. Christians are not called to trust that if they are faithful, God will provide them with various forms of earthly perks. Instead Christians are called to trust that following the message and example of Jesus (and trusting in him alone) makes for a truly whole life. This ‘whole’ life is one that might indeed include various forms of suffering and pain, one that is indeed counter-cultural and sacrificial to its core. This kind of life seeks the wellbeing of friend and foe alike, and measures success only in terms of how much we recognize (to paraphrase Martin Luther) that “we are all beggars at the generous table of God.” This is the ‘straight’ path that comes from trusting in God from a New Testament point of view.

Application: Personally, I would prefer to have it both ways. I want to be given earthly reward for being faithful, though only when I really am faithful! Whenever I’m not faithful in honoring God, well, then I want God’s grace and mercy! And, of course, whenever life is a challenge, I want reassured that what is born out of the struggle, much like childbirth, will ultimately be worth the pain.

So what do those of us who are Christian mean when we say “trust in the Lord?” Many times I think we mean, “God’s got your back!” That’s true, I suppose. But it also goes much deeper than that. It’s not so much that God’s got YOUR back. Rather, trusting in God includes realizing that God’s got “YOU” (and I) back; back into the way, the truth, and the life that is most surely found through Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for continuing to remind me of your powerful claim on my life, and on the lives of all who trust in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.