Acts is such an incredible book of the Bible! I mean, they're all good, but at this moment in time God is using the book of Acts to teach me so much. I was reading in chapter 27 today and it just amazes me to read about Paul's faith. He believed God. He believed not just in God, like so many of us do, but he believed God. If God told or revealed something to Paul, he believed. Paul didn't question why it would be safer to stay on a ship in the middle of a storm rather than go ashore. He simply believed God and obeyed.
I had to ask myself, "How does one have faith as strong as Paul's?" What was it about this man that just caused him to trust every word that God said? I struggle with trust issues a lot and even though in my head I know that God is in control, all powerful, sovereign and everything else that He is, I have a hard time getting what's in my head down to my heart. Paul fully and completely trusted God. No doubts, no worries, not a hint of mistrust. He placed his life in God's hands and he was secure.
So here is the answer that I came up with through studying the life of Paul:
Paul was the chief of sinners. We are all sinners, but Paul knew his sin better than anyone else and he believed himself to be the chief of sinners. He recognized that God had radically changed his life. Paul never once, that I have found, tried to take credit for any of the change that God did in his life. He knew that his salvation was all from Christ and if God can radically change the life of the "chief of sinners" then there is no reason for doubt or mistrust. If God is powerful enough to take the life of a man who persecuted Christians, and turn that life into one that spreads the Gospel and becomes a follower of Christ, then I have no reason to doubt that He can do the same for me.
When I look at my life and see all that the Lord has saved me from, I realize that my mistrust is ridiculous. If God is powerful enough to save me from the sins in my life, then I have no reason to doubt His power and love. He already displayed the ultimate act of power and love for me when He saved me...everything else is just a bonus! When we understand the power of the Gospel and the depths of what Christ did for us on the cross, suddenly trusting God doesn't seem like such a mind-bogglingly difficult thing. It actually seems quite normal.
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