He Knows

“The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” (Na 1:7 AV)

 

We can apply the underlined phrase in several ways.  We can take it as a challenge and remember the LORD does know who is willing and who is unwilling to exercise faith.  For the LORD to be a strong hold, He looks for those who have faith.  We could also apply it another way.  As another challenge.  We can see it as a challenge to run to the LORD as our strong hold because we have faith.   In so doing, we can take this verse as a promise.  However, there is a third way in which we can understand this.  As a simple statement of fact.  God knows whether I trust Him, or I do not.  This is not hard to understand.  God knows our hearts before we even act.  He knows how much faith we have.  Just look at the LORD’s challenge to Abraham.  He asked Abraham to offer Isaac.  Isaac knew Abraham was not going to kill him because he willingly went to the altar.  God knew what Abraham was going to do and provided a ram before the test.  The only one not fully aware of how much faith Abraham had was Abraham.  God knew.

Any parent who knows his child knows how much that child trusts him.  I have three very trusting children.  One in particular.  You’ll get a kick out of this.  We were on our way somewhere and we had stopped to get a coffee.  I was in the driver’s seat and my youngest was in the passenger seat.  I had come to a complete stop and must have had really sensitive breaks because, at the last second, the breaks seized up.  The car was going at a snail’s pace so the reaction was not all that significant.  However, my son, thinking the car was coming to a complete and smooth stop, began to drink his coffee.  When the breaks seized, it made his coffee jostle ever so slightly.  Not enough to spill all over the place.  Just enough to place a drop or two on his upper lip.  He reacted as though the entire cup of coffee spilled.  It was funny.  As father/son relationships go, one cannot let a good prank go to waste.  We did stop and go maneuvers at almost every intersection because I wanted to see his mounting frustration at not being able to drink his coffee.  Lest you feel sorry for him, this is the son who put salt and or pepper in my water while dining at a restaurant.  So stop feeling sorry for him!  Anyway, for the better part of thirty minutes, and multiple times at each intersection, this dance would occur.  I stop.  I start and stop.  I jerk the car.  Only to see him try to drink at every intersection.  Now that is faith!

Unlike us, God does not know our faith because He desires to play a prank.  He knows our faith that He might show himself strong on behalf of those who trust in Him.  He knows this faith even before He tests this faith.  Knowing our faith, He desires that faith to grow.  Which requires more testing.  But here is the encouraging thing.  When we are faced with situations beyond our control, we must have faith in a God bigger than our circumstances.  If we do, then we have to have faith that God knows we have that faith.  I didn’t know exactly how much faith my son had in me until I tested it.  Not until a jerked the car countless times did I understand how much faith he had.  However, God knows before the testing comes.  Therefore, any testing is a measure of God's knowledge of how much faith we have and not how much we think we have.