"The Benefits of Trusting Him"

Scripture: "The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him." -Nahum 1:7, NLT

Throughout our respective lives, we have all had a relationship or two where your mate asked you to trust him/her. Due to this request of trust, you do what you can to give him/her the benefit of a doubt. In some of our cases, trusting him/her was the best thing we could have ever done. It has led us down the aisle to marriage, prosperous relationships, happiness, and other things. On the other hand, trusting him/her has led to many scars, the birth of children, the death of children, some mental scarring, and more importantly, life's lessons. On today, I am encouraged because there's someone who wants you to trust Him. Of course Him is the Almighty God. Believe you me, if you trust Him, there are benefits. Today's text emphasizes a couple of these benefits.

Today, our devotional journey leads us to the Old Testament book of Nahum. Nahum is considered by scholars as a Minor Prophet and his book falls as the seventh book of the twelve-book series known as the Old Testament's Minor Prophets. To obtain a further understanding of what makes a prophet minor/major is based on the amount of information they have within their respective books. Within this book, Nahum was charged with the task of denouncing the destruction of the Assyrian empire, particularly in Nineveh. In addition, he provided consolation for his countrymen and encouraged them to trust in God. Within this initial chapter, Nahum focuses on the justice and power of the Lord along with His overall anger with Nineveh. With all of this being said, let's see what Nahum has to say to us about the benefits of trusting God.

Nahum starts the text by saying, "The Lord is good". Now that has a way of making you trust Him real quick! I thank God for knowing that in spite of everything around us that's bad, that He is good! Because He's good, He wants to be good to you! He can be really good to you if you trust Him! The text continues and lets us know that God is "a strong refuge when trouble comes". When you trust God, you trust Him in the good days and the bad days. Many of us have been rained upon because of this life. Many of us have suffered because we did not trust God. But, when you do trust God, you know that He is not just a refuge, but a STRONG refuge! How many of you remember the story of the Three Little Pigs? Within this story, all three pigs had houses and the big bad wolf said that he would huff and puff and blow your house down! He blew away two of the homes because one was made out of twigs and the other was made out of straw. However, there was one house that he could not blow down and that's because it was made out of bricks. God is the brick house as the enemy tries to huff and puff and blow your hope, your joy, your happiness, your successes, your testimonies, and anything else. Aren't you glad that God is your brick house that covers you from the winds and howling of the enemy?

Nahum has allowed us to understand thus far the benefit of trusting God comes with Him not just being good, but being a strong refuge when trouble comes. The last benefit we see within the text is that "He is close to those who trust in Him". Now that right there ought to make you trust God 1,000,000% more than you ever did before! Many of us have worked very hard in our respective walks with God by reading His Word, praying to Him, fasting to Him, worshipping Him, praising Him in the good and the bad, and the list goes on and on. Because of this communion with God, you have grown close to Him and in turn, He has grown close to you. What's the benefit? The benefit is because of your closeness with God, He can provide you insight on situations. He can tell you how to make your business dreams work. He can tell you how to love your mate that in turn, make them love you harder. He can share with you ways on how to love your children even when they disappoint you. He can show you how your bills will get paid when your money is funny. He can allow you to feel who's good for you to hang around and who's bad for you to hang around. These things are benefits, but the greatest benefit of trusting God is that He's close to you! When God is close to you, watch out now! Things can happen and the demons will tremble because they will not just see you, but they will see the GOD that's in you!

In closing, though we have experienced hurts and joys in trusting our fellow man, there are greater benefits when we trust our God! When we trust Him, He's there to be a strong refuge when trouble comes and He's close to you, closer than any brother / sister/mother/father/ husband /wife could ever be! With these things laid out, doesn't that make you want to trust God a little more with your life?