Trusting in God Alone
Jesus’ followers hoped the temple would soon be theirs, so they hoped in it, but Jesus told them it wouldn’t last long. Any time we put our hope in things that are not God, we set ourselves up for disappointment. The only way we avoid ultimate disappointment is by trusting in God alone.
But when we hope in God, he doesn’t promise us smooth sailing. He walks the way of the cross on his way to vindication, and he calls us to follow him. It is through this adversity that God shows his power at work in us and it’s also how he realigns our hopes so that we hope to see his kingdom come on earth.
So our goal should be to treasure God and his kingdom above all else. This sort of submission means allowing God to form Christ in our hearts. While it is God’s work, it only happens as we submit to what he does in us, and this happens in prayer. In prayer we can choose to allow hardship and adversity to lead us to Christlikeness or to bitterness. God has rich purposes for the things that hurt us, but they will only have their full intended effect when we can thank God for their power to shape us into people who look like Jesus. But when we do this, we will never be put to shame, because when we live life trusting in God alone, in the end, we will not be disappointed.
