Trusting with Our Lives

Throughout the season of Lent, we’ve been hearing Jesus’ seven last words from the cross. The last word that Jesus spoke, before he died, was “Father, into thy hands I entrust my spirit.” 

Jesus’ work on earth had been done.  He had taught and healed and preached, and finally, gave his very life, the fulfillment of God’s plan, the perfection and completion of all Jesus’ work, the ultimate sacrifice for our sin.  And despite the fact that to all appearances it was the end, that those gathered at the foot of the cross that day thought that it was all over—many of his followers had fled, the family and friends who remained were stricken with grief, the soldiers and authorities thought it was all finished—Jesus knew that it was not the end, that resurrection was to come.  And so he entrusted his death and his life into the hands of God.  “Into YOUR hands, I entrust my spirit.”

And on that glorious Easter morning, when the disciples found the tomb empty, the angel said, “Why do you look for him here?  He has risen, just as he said.” Jesus knew what was to come, knew that he would have to suffer and die, but that in that act he would win victory over sin and death forever.  Jesus knew that resurrection was at hand, and that he would ascend to the right hand of God the Father almighty, where he welcomes even us to his kingdom.

We too are called to trust God with our lives, and yet despite the witness of Easter that God is indeed trustworthy, it is hard for us to do.

Recently attention was riveted on the Mega Millions lottery, which had accumulated the largest jackpot in history.  Drawn by the lure of huge money, more people were playing than ever before.  There were a number of news stories interviewing people about why they were playing.  So many of them said they hoped life would get better, that winning millions of dollars would be the answer to all their problems and make all their dreams come true. 

I will tell you that Joseph and I did not buy a ticket, because we agreed that we would not want the disruption of our lives that would come with winning that kind of money! So many times, those lottery winners have more problems than solutions, and they end up being miserable, lives and relationships changed in ways they never imagined.  Sometimes the things we think we want, the things we think we can trust for our happiness, are not what we need at all.  As the country song says, “Thank God for unanswered prayers.”

If we could only learn to trust God, rather than trying to keep control in our own hands. We trust our own plans more than we do God’s.  We trust our money, our possessions, our positions; we trust our diets, our exercise, our self-help books, to give us the lives we want, when God may have a better plan than we could ever imagine. 

So often in our quest to control our lives, we place our trust in the wrong things, and then we wonder why we are not happy, why our lives lack joy and fulfillment. A seminary classmate of mine had been a successful dentist.  He, his wife, and three children, enjoyed “the good life,” before God called him into ministry. He gave up his practice, they sold their beautiful home, and moved into a tiny seminary apartment, and they said they had never been happier.  The joy of trusting one’s life to God is greater than any other satisfaction.

Does that mean that everything will always work out beautifully, that we’ll never have any hardships or sorrows?  No, the reality of life is that Christians are not insulated from the effects of the world.   

But the good news of Easter is that we can trust the God of the resurrection, the one whom Jesus himself trusted, with our very lives.  I have learned this in a powerful way since I was diagnosed with cancer and have been going through chemotherapy. There’s something about getting a cancer diagnosis that puts things in a different perspective.  My diagnosis has made me realize how little control I have over my life.  I learned that very powerfully last Sunday, when the effects of chemo made it impossible for me to preach on Palm Sunday, one of the most special days of the church year.  And yet, there is something good about being stripped of the illusion that I am in control.  I trust my life and the life of my church to a good and trustworthy God, and I know that I can leave all things in His hands. 

When you were a child, did you ever play that wonderful game with your dad, where you jump off the edge of the pool into his waiting arms?  When I was a child, it didn’t matter to me one bit that the water at the deep end was well over my head.  It never entered my mind that my dad would not catch me.  I had perfect trust in him.

And so it is with our lives in Christ.  The one who raised Jesus from the dead, just as he said, is the one who has the power to keep us from falling, the one who watches over us every moment and never leaves us alone.

So let us give thanks that just as did our Lord himself, we can entrust our lives to God.  He has already won the victory over every evil power.  There is nothing that can bind us, nothing that can hold us in the tomb, for Christ has risen, just as he said, and because he lives, we shall live also.  So let us live now in gladness and joy that have no end, for he has risen, just as he said.