Our theme this year is truth. We’re talking about God’s truth of course. But we’ve also got truth on the rock. So, you’ll hear us say things like, “the ropes can catch you,” “you’re not going to fall more than just an inch or two.” You’ll also hear us say, “your shoes are going to hold you, just trust you feet.” Or, “this knot is not going to come undone. Trust it, your totally good.” These things are all true.
Trusting this truth is a very different thing. Just because I know that that rope isn’t going to let me fall, I know that that is true, but do I trust it. That’s hard.
I’m lousy at trust. Just so you guys know, I’m terrible at it. I’m just awful. Probably, in the dictionary under untrustfulness, that’s me. I’m horrible at it. There are two people that I fully trust on this earth. There’s one that I mostly trust. That’s about it. I’m terrible at it. Just awful. And it will rear its ugly head when I am climbing. My nerves would get me. I’m not trusting what I know is true. It is awful.
So, because I’m not trusting, my relationship with the Lord was just awful. I trusted him with my children, my daughters here. I knew that the Lord loved and had her and my son. I totally believed all his truths. But, I did not trust Him, that He accepts did me as one of his own.
The Lord had enough of that nonsense with me, and He set a man into my life, who introduced me to this book. (Shame & Grace) It took me three months to read the first half because it was so gut wrenching. It just was the most painful thing I have ever done. Took me two days to finish the second half, and I cried the entire time. It completely changed my life.
What it did is, it taught me how to trust God. The best example on this earth that we are given is the relationship between a parent and a child. My kids know that there is nothing on this earth that they will do, that would ever keep me from loving them. The same with the Lord. There’s nothing on this earth we could do that would keep them from loving us.
Alexia was nice enough to let me use her as an example. If you guys are blessed enough to our children, you know that relationship. If you don’t have kids, hopefully you’ve had it with your parents as a child.
Alexia and I, and her mom, and Sid, went climbing last year. Alexia and I had just met that day. They were climbing and, you know, I trust me, I’m good with myself, but anybody else I’m a little scared of. So, I said to Alexia, “Hey do you want me to belay ya?” And she just at me and said, “nope.” So as an untrusting person, I totally got it. I didn’t judge, I was like, I hear ya. But, you put her mom on the other end of that rope, and that kid will outclimb anyone.
Here’s the thing. The truth didn’t change. That rope was going to hold her. She knew that her feet were going to stand up and hold her. None of the truth changed. But it was who she trusted that made all the difference. It’s our same relationship with the Lord guys. It’s the same. We know the truth is there. We know the truth. But do we trust the truth?
One time Sid and I were at the bouldering gym, and she was tiny. I was away from her, climbing on one end of the gym. She was up on the wall at the other end, and it was noisy. Everybody was laughing and talking, but I heard her go, “momma!” in that gut wrenching, she’s in trouble, I’ve got to go kind of sound. I jumped off the wall at ten feet, ran over, and she was so scared. She was shaking. I looked at her and said, just fall kiddo, I’ve got ya. And she just let go, and I caught her. That’s the same relationship you need with the Lord. He’s there. He’s going to catch us.
So one of the coolest things that I found through this whole process is that God actually commands us to love him like a child loves a parent. We’ve got tons of verses that say that.
Matthew 18: 2-3 says, “He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Mark 10:15 says, “ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
John 1:12–13, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Galatians 4: 6-7, “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”
So here’s the cool part of this book, and what clicked with me. It’s a little long, so just hang in there. He talks about how you get your trust back with the Lord. We’ve all had shameful things done to us, and we have done shameful things. It’s just part of the fallen world. But when we accept those things and we start trusting God as a child, it completely changes everything:
[To experience grace is to recover our lost inner child. The heart of our inner child is trust. We lose our childhood when we feel that the person, we entrusted to accept us do not accept us, or that they may reject us if we do things that displease them. Shame cheats us out of childhood, grace gives it back to you. The trusting child does not have to worry in the world about whether he’s smart enough or handsome enough, or whether he’s accomplished enough with his life, or been good enough to be acceptable to his parents. He trusts that someone who holds him, cradles him and loves him, will accept him again and always. Trust is the inner child we rediscover in an experience of grace.
Grace overcomes shame not by uncovering what overlooked cachet of excellence in ourselves, but simply by accepting us, the whole of us, with no regard to our beauty or our ugliness, our virtue or our vices. We are accepted, whole self. Accepted with no possibility of being rejected. Accepted once again and accepted forever, accepted at the ultimate depth of our being.
We are given what we have longed for in every nook and nuance of every relationship. We are ready for grace when we are bone tired of our struggle to be worthy and acceptable. After we have tried to long to earn the approval of everyone important to us, we’re ready for grace. When we are tired of trying to do the person, somebody sometime convinced us we had to be, we’re ready for grace. When we’ve given up on all hope of ever being acceptable human beings, we may hear in our hearts the ultimate reassurance, “We are accepted, accepted by grace.”] (Shame & Grace, Lewes B. Smedes)
So, it all links together. The relationship that God wants with us is to trust Him like a child. We know the truth. We’ve got to trust the truth. It’s just unbelievable. And God’s grace is what gives us that trust so that we can understand and hang out to those truths. It is that simple. God loves you. He wants the best for you, which is why he gave us his Word, which is true. So accept it, walk by it, live in it, trust in His promises.
Proverbs 3: 5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Truth, he does.
Deuteronomy 31:8, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Truth.
Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you. You only need to stand still.” Truth.
Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Truth.
The truth is, you are loved. You’re accepted. You are worthy of being daughters at the high Kinge. The rope won’t let you fall. Your feet are solid. They’re going to hold you. Your belayer has got you. And so does God.
Let’s pray and we’ll start our day. Father God, thank you so much for this beautiful day and this beautiful setting. Lord, I just pray that your spirits among us today, that our conversations are uplifting to you, that we just acknowledge that we are your children and your daughters, and we trust in that truth, Lord. Keep us safe and just let us have a wonderful time together. In your son’s holy name, Amen.
