How Do We Know That God Is Trustworthy?

Who is this God that we claim is trustworthy? We've talked about how he has shown up for us, but who is he? What is he like? In this episode we share how we know who God is - through scripture, through others and through our own relationship with him.

Resources:
From Mary Beth:
New City Catechism: 
Question: What is God? 
Answer: God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth.

From Sarah:
Rich Mullins song “Creed”

"And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am
I did not make it, no it is making me
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man"

Sarah’s theological background: Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective (1995)

Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus 
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end. 

@thisistrustworthy

trustworthypodcast.com

Email us listen@trustworthypodcast.com

Transcript

0.661769 3.161769 Is God trustworthy?
3.161769 5.661769 I am Sarah.
5.661769 7.661769 And I am Mary Beth.
7.661769 12.661769 Join us as we seek to answer this question through whole-hearted conversation.
12.661769 18.661769 Discover the wit and wisdom that comes from being anchored in Christ and connected to one another.
18.661769 21.661769 This is Trustworthy.
21.661769 34.661769 [Music]
34.661769 38.661769 On this episode of Trustworthy,
38.661769 43.661769 everyone has had some kind of relationship with God their whole life.
43.661769 50.661769 But you cannot say that something is not without first understanding what it is.
50.661769 61.661769 [Music]
61.661769 64.661769 Well, hello there, Mary Beth.
64.661769 68.661769 We're back again, Sarah. Happy to be here.
68.661769 69.661769 Me too.
69.661769 75.661769 Can you believe we're already on episode six that I get right this time?
75.661769 78.661769 Yes, and no, I can't.
78.661769 85.661769 We're a little ahead of the listeners, though, because we're recording these not live.
85.661769 86.661769 That's right.
86.661769 88.661769 Do you think people know that?
88.661769 89.661769 Pretty sure they do.
89.661769 90.661769 Okay.
90.661769 91.661769 All right.
91.661769 96.661769 I don't think anybody thinks we're up at 9 a.m. every Tuesday recording and then hitting send, right?
96.661769 99.661769 No, we're definitely not.
99.661769 101.661769 Today, I don't know what day you're listening to this.
101.661769 105.661769 Today, it is a beautiful day in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
105.661769 109.661769 It certainly is breezy, sunny, blue skies.
109.661769 111.661769 Warm but not hot.
111.661769 112.661769 Yeah.
112.661769 113.661769 It's just right.
113.661769 120.661769 Back at the beginning of our Trustworthy podcast journey.
120.661769 122.661769 Way, way.
122.661769 123.661769 Yeah.
123.661769 126.661769 Yeah, eons ago.
126.661769 129.661769 Eons ago six months ago.
129.661769 130.661769 Five months ago.
130.661769 134.661769 We had a dear friend ask us a question.
134.661769 137.661769 She listened to the first episode.
137.661769 138.661769 Yeah.
138.661769 139.661769 She did.
139.661769 140.661769 She was one of our advance.
140.661769 141.661769 I don't know.
141.661769 142.661769 What do you call this?
142.661769 143.661769 Test audience.
143.661769 144.661769 Test audience.
144.661769 145.661769 Yeah.
145.661769 148.661769 She was an advanced test audience.
148.661769 152.661769 She wanted to know where this belief that God is.
152.661769 158.661769 Trustworthy comes from an excellent question and excellent question.
158.661769 165.661769 And one that we have been thinking about for the last few months.
165.661769 169.661769 And so we thought we would address it today.
169.661769 178.661769 And so the question now has become how do we know that God is trustworthy?
178.661769 180.661769 We're going back to basics today.
180.661769 181.661769 Okay.
181.661769 183.661769 All the way back to who God is.
183.661769 186.161769 How do we know who he is?
186.161769 190.101769 We have talked already on previous episodes about different ways.
190.101769 191.261769 He has been trustworthy.
191.261769 197.221769 But I think this is an important question of okay, we're clearly starting from a premise
197.221769 198.661769 that he is.
198.661769 199.941769 These things we say he is.
199.941769 202.181769 But how do we know that he's trustworthy?
202.181769 204.301769 And where did that believe come from?
204.301769 216.601769 For me, I have had a relationship with God from the time that I will probably even before
216.601769 219.301769 I accepted Christ as my savior.
219.301769 226.981769 I mean, I understood who God was because it was taught to me by my parents and by people
226.981769 229.101769 in my life.
229.101769 237.601769 And so my whole frame of reference growing up was that the world that we live in was created
237.601769 247.541769 by God and that he also created me and that I was unique and there was nobody like me.
247.541769 254.421769 And even some of the qualities that I had that might be annoying were put there deliberately
254.421769 256.261769 by God.
256.261769 259.861769 And well, this is a side note, but I like side notes.
259.861769 265.941769 As I've grown up, I've realized that with great power comes great responsibility.
265.941769 273.301769 And then all of those annoying traits I had, like Sarah talks too much in class.
273.301769 278.741769 Sarah spends more time talking to her neighbor in the classroom than she does doing her homework
278.741769 282.061769 has now brought me to a place where I am talking.
282.061769 283.061769 On a podcast.
283.061769 285.021769 You're not getting in trouble for it.
285.021769 287.141769 And I'm not getting in trouble for it.
287.141769 288.141769 Not yet.
288.141769 289.141769 Not yet.
289.141769 290.141769 That's right.
290.141769 295.981769 So I've known about God my whole life and there have been ebbs and flows in my relationship
295.981769 300.781769 with God as you have heard on some previous episodes.
300.781769 312.181769 But there always was a constant bedrock belief in my life that God was who I learned he was
312.181769 319.101769 and then came to know that he was who he said he was or is who he says he is.
319.101769 322.421769 Here is a question for you.
322.421769 329.101769 You said when you first started your comments that you have had a relationship with God kind
329.101769 330.901769 of your whole life.
330.901769 339.021769 I wonder if it's acceptable to say that everyone has had some kind of relationship with God
339.021769 340.181769 their whole life.
340.181769 342.701769 You might be one of a stranger.
342.701769 349.861769 God's a stranger or denying that He exists or questioning, questioning or knowing Him, pursuing
349.861769 350.941769 Him.
350.941769 357.581769 I think that you bring up a valid point and it's one that I’ve thought of a lot.
357.581769 364.341769 Everyone has a relationship with God whether they would admit it or not to deny the existence
364.341769 370.821769 of something is to have a relationship with that thing because you cannot deny that something
370.821769 375.981769 exists without first acknowledging that it must.
375.981769 385.421769 There is always an equal or the other side of the coin or the opposite balance side of
385.421769 388.141769 the equation or whatever you want to describe.
388.141769 395.221769 Which you cannot say that something is not without first understanding what it is.
395.221769 402.741769 I can't say, "Oh, it's not raining today unless I know what rain is."
402.741769 406.341769 I actually can say that it's not raining today because it's a beautiful sunny day as we've
406.341769 408.541769 already said previously.
408.541769 415.661769 But before we digress to long down that conversation, yes, I think that everybody has a relationship
415.661769 420.741769 with God whether they would care to admit it or even understand it.
420.741769 423.501769 So who does God say that He is in Scripture?
423.501769 425.661769 So Mary Beth, tell us.
425.661769 430.141769 Tell us all the things God says about Himself in Scripture in 30 minutes.
430.141769 431.141769 Go.
432.141769 433.141769 First, Trinity.
433.141769 434.141769 No.
434.141769 438.261769 So we're going to cover just a few of the characteristics that God tells us about Himself
438.261769 439.461769 in Scripture.
439.461769 441.421769 And we wanted to start there.
441.421769 447.261769 There are multiple ways we can know who God is and know Him Scripture being the primary
447.261769 454.381769 one that God has left us because we know that all Scripture is inspired by God and is
454.381769 455.621769 God breathed.
455.621769 456.861769 Yeah.
456.861769 461.581769 I think I'm going to start with 1 John.
461.581769 463.301769 So this is from 1 John 4.
463.301769 469.301769 This is a passage about who Jesus is and how Jesus relates to the Father.
469.301769 475.181769 Verse 15 says, "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him and He
475.181769 476.741769 and God."
476.741769 480.941769 So we have come to know and to believe the love God has for us.
480.941769 488.341769 God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in Him.
488.341769 495.901769 So one thing we know from Scripture is that God is love and that Jesus is the Son of God.
495.901769 498.661769 There's two fundamentals right there.
498.661769 505.421769 I think of John 14, 6 and 7 when you say that.
505.421769 511.461769 Jesus' conversation with His disciples, he said that he was going to prepare a place
511.461769 516.341769 for them and Thomas said, "Lord, we don't know where you are going.
516.341769 518.901769 So how can we know the way?"
518.901769 523.061769 And Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.
523.061769 525.861769 No one comes to the Father except for me.
525.861769 529.861769 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.
529.861769 535.461769 From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him."
535.461769 540.661769 So there, he says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and the He and the Father are
540.661769 542.421769 one and the same."
542.421769 549.661769 Taking it back to the Old Testament before Jesus was on the scene in the New Testament,
549.661769 551.781769 although still very much a part of what was happening.
551.781769 557.941769 I was thinking about Job and this great, I almost want to call it a retort, that God has to
557.941769 559.341769 him and Job 38.
559.341769 567.181769 Yes, when the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, this is just some of what he says to Job.
567.181769 570.021769 Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
570.021769 573.621769 Tell me if you have understanding who determined its measurements.
573.621769 577.181769 Surely you know or who stretched the line upon it.
577.181769 581.741769 Further down, he says, "Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from
581.741769 582.741769 the womb.
582.741769 587.421769 When I made clouds its garment and thick darkness, it's swaddling band and prescribed limits
587.421769 590.341769 for it and set bars and doors."
590.341769 594.821769 Further down, he just continues, "Have you entered into the springs of the sea or walked
594.821769 596.661769 in the recesses of the deep?
596.661769 601.381769 Have the gates of death been revealed to you or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
601.381769 605.661769 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth to clear if you know all this?"
605.661769 611.701769 And this whole chapter, while coming across maybe almost a little bit sassy, it is
611.701769 615.581769 just God demonstrating that He is creator.
615.581769 617.501769 He is all powerful.
617.501769 623.781769 He is all knowing that He is so much more than we are.
623.781769 624.781769 Yeah.
624.781769 628.421769 And that those distinctives also define Him in a lot of ways.
628.421769 629.421769 Yeah.
629.421769 631.461769 I think of the story.
631.461769 640.301769 There was a group of blind men and they were introduced to an elephant and one of the
640.301769 646.261769 blind men was feeling his trunk and one was feeling his leg and the other blind man was feeling
646.261769 650.861769 the elephant's tail and then they were asked, "Well, tell me what an elephant is like."
650.861769 656.021769 And the one said, "Well, an elephant is like a snake and an elephant is like a tree and
656.021769 659.101769 an elephant, the third one says, "The elephant is like a tail."
659.101769 664.541769 We only have a small picture in our understanding and comprehension of who God is and that when
664.541769 670.061769 I think about that passage from Job, Job was like, "God, who are you?
670.061769 674.101769 You're not meeting out justice the way that I think it should be or he was questioning
674.101769 679.181769 and God is just like, do you have any idea who I am?"
679.181769 683.741769 And needless to say, after that conversation, Job was put in his place.
683.741769 689.781769 He got his comeuppance and he realized just how small he was in comparison.
689.781769 692.861769 I think that's important for us to remember too.
692.861769 697.941769 Sometimes when we think we understand who God is, we really only have a small picture.
697.941769 700.021769 It can be overwhelming.
700.021769 710.701769 And there is this hard truth that God is this vast, separate from us, creator, sustainer,
710.701769 716.901769 but also extremely personal and relational with us.
716.901769 725.061769 So there's the verses in John 15 about Jesus being our friend.
725.061769 731.381769 I mean, there are so many, also just hymns, I think of Jesus, what a friend for sinners.
731.381769 740.061769 But John 15, 12 through 14, this is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.
740.061769 744.941769 Greater love has no one than this that someone laid down his life for his friends.
744.941769 745.941769 This is Jesus speaking.
745.941769 749.421769 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
749.421769 753.621769 No longer do I call you servants, or the servant does not know what his master is doing,
753.621769 755.741769 but I have called you friends.
755.741769 760.661769 For all that I have heard from my father, I have made known to you.
760.661769 764.941769 And I would say Sarah, Jesus is the best friend I've ever had.
764.941769 765.941769 Yeah.
765.941769 768.341769 I would agree with that.
768.341769 771.221769 He's both of our best friend.
771.221769 777.221769 He would have a lot of BFF bracelets to show.
777.221769 788.341769 I think he does.
788.341769 790.341769 Yes.
790.341769 795.941769 Anything else on the scripture side of it that you wanted to point out, just of who God says
795.941769 798.821769 he is in scripture?
798.821769 805.661769 One of the verses that came to mind is Psalm 1831, "For who is God besides the Lord and
805.661769 809.781769 who is the rock besides our God?"
809.781769 814.421769 I always found that verse interesting because all those things mean the same thing.
814.421769 820.701769 God is Lord and He's the rock and oh yeah, and He's God again.
820.701769 824.901769 And so it's back to that elephant encounter.
824.901769 825.901769 Elephant encounter.
825.901769 826.901769 Yes.
826.901769 831.141769 It's a closing counter of the elephant.
831.141769 840.341769 Okay.
840.341769 842.461769 You're losing me.
842.461769 843.461769 Yeah.
843.461769 848.781769 This may be edited out, but yeah, I just think back to the close encounter of the elephant
848.781769 849.781769 kind.
849.781769 850.781769 Okay.
850.781769 851.781769 All right.
851.781769 858.941769 Being that he's our friend, that really informs the relationship that I was mentioning earlier.
858.941769 860.941769 And I said, "Oh, I've had a relationship.
860.941769 866.461769 I've had a relationship with someone who loves me deeply, has literally sacrificed himself
866.461769 871.701769 and all his glory and not considering equality with God as something to be grasped.
871.701769 877.381769 He came to earth as a man and died on the cross for our sins.
877.381769 883.901769 And just like Jesus said, greater love has no man than this, than he laid down his life
883.901769 885.381769 for his friends.
885.381769 892.261769 And I think that in my life, as we've discussed in previous episodes, hopefully listeners,
892.261769 900.541769 you've gotten to understand Mary Beth and I sharing with you the results of this friendship,
900.541769 905.421769 the results of this relationship that has sustained us and carried us through a lot of different
905.421769 911.101769 changes and seasons and episodes in our life and episodes of the podcast.
911.101769 919.701769 Yeah, so that is kind of another aspect of how do we know God is trustworthy?
919.701769 922.941769 Well, we know what he says about himself in Scripture.
922.941769 926.701769 He has proven it to us time and time again.
926.701769 930.341769 Someone can read a book about God and still not know him.
930.341769 937.141769 But I think another way that God proves himself trustworthy is by letting us know him, that
937.141769 944.901769 he is knowable by us, just as you're saying, we have known him personally as a person and
944.901769 949.221769 walked within throughout life for however many years it's been for each of us.
949.221769 957.981769 And there is a friendship there and there is a dynamic there that has shown up time and
957.981769 958.981769 time again for us.
958.981769 962.901769 I mean, not even time and time again, just constantly.
962.901769 969.701769 Yeah, consistently and consistency builds trust, the more you walk with God, the more you'll
969.701769 970.701769 trust him.
970.701769 971.701769 Yeah.
971.701769 977.421769 And that is something that can be different and people's different spiritual experiences.
977.421769 981.301769 I mean, Scripture says that the demons believe who God is.
981.301769 982.301769 Oh, absolutely.
982.301769 983.301769 They knew who he is.
983.301769 985.141769 I'm not calling people demons.
985.141769 989.741769 But I'm so saying that sometimes people may not that kind of podcast.
989.741769 990.741769 No, it's not.
990.741769 997.381769 So may read Scripture and say, yes, I believe in God, but they have not known him as trustworthy.
997.381769 998.381769 Yeah.
998.381769 1000.221769 On a personal level.
1000.221769 1004.661769 How might we encourage someone to get to that point if they have never gotten to that point
1004.661769 1005.661769 before?
1005.661769 1011.661769 Anything religion, different religious practices and different religious traditions, sometimes
1011.661769 1017.981769 are elevated to a point where it separates us from that personal relationship.
1017.981769 1025.661769 There are many traditions that put something between people and God.
1025.661769 1033.101769 When Christ died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn into literally and also
1033.101769 1034.621769 figuratively.
1034.621769 1037.221769 We no longer need a high priest.
1037.221769 1039.341769 Jesus is the high priest.
1039.341769 1043.141769 And so we can just go directly to God now.
1043.141769 1047.781769 And I think that's important because we couldn't have this personal relationship.
1047.781769 1052.581769 If that was not the case, we would have to be having a relationship with God by proxy,
1052.581769 1058.261769 but we don't need to do that anymore since Christ's death and resurrection.
1058.261769 1059.261769 Yeah.
1059.261769 1063.861769 And I would hope that in this podcast, as people all listen to us, kind of tackle different
1063.861769 1069.421769 areas of life, that will be the demonstration to answer your friend's question of how he
1069.421769 1077.661769 is knowable by us as we discuss these different scenarios, situations, themes in our lives.
1077.661769 1083.101769 Things of life, whatever it might be, that's where we really want to dig into how he has
1083.101769 1089.701769 been trustworthy as a person that we know, as a real relationship.
1089.701769 1094.701769 That changes our lives and changes how we live our lives.
1094.701769 1099.381769 One of the ways we can think about this question, where does this belief that God has trustworthy
1099.381769 1107.021769 come from, is we can think about who God is or how do we know who God is.
1107.021769 1110.221769 And so we've talked about a couple of ways, the scripture.
1110.221769 1115.021769 We've talked about a personal relationship, the impact that he's had on our lives, which
1115.021769 1118.461769 is being discussed in these episodes on this podcast.
1118.461769 1128.461769 I also think it's very interesting to remember that God made us in his image.
1128.461769 1139.501769 We are basing our discussion on the fact that a higher power, namely God, has interacted
1139.501769 1144.341769 with the universe and created us and the world that we live in.
1144.341769 1151.301769 When he did, he made mankind in his own image.
1151.301769 1159.541769 So when we want to know who God is, we can look at each other and I'm sitting here across
1159.541769 1165.621769 from my friend and I'm looking at her and she's starting to glance around and chuckle.
1165.621769 1169.221769 I feel awkward now.
1169.221769 1175.141769 But Mary Beth is telling me right now who God is through the way that she's looking at
1175.141769 1176.141769 me.
1176.141769 1177.621769 She's paying attention to what I'm saying.
1177.621769 1178.621769 She's nodding.
1178.621769 1180.421769 She's understanding.
1180.421769 1186.421769 When we think about all of men and women being created in God's image and I'll just read
1186.421769 1190.021769 the scripture verse because that's what we're doing here today.
1190.021769 1191.661769 We're reading the scripture verses.
1191.661769 1193.781769 We're going to the source.
1193.781769 1197.621769 His God wrote the Bible through his people.
1197.621769 1199.821769 Genesis 1, 27.
1199.821769 1204.301769 So God created mankind in his own image.
1204.301769 1207.941769 In the image of God, he created them.
1207.941769 1220.621769 So if we're made in God's image, then we could extrapolate the qualities of God by looking
1220.621769 1222.941769 at one another.
1222.941769 1227.821769 The best in each other and the best in what is happening in the world.
1227.821769 1228.821769 Yes.
1228.821769 1237.101769 That all of the good things happening in the world are a reflection of his character and
1237.101769 1238.821769 his nature.
1238.821769 1245.341769 We, of course, as we've established, are not trustworthy in and of ourselves.
1245.341769 1251.461769 So while we do reflect all of the characteristics and the qualities of God or some of them as
1251.461769 1256.901769 the race of human beings, we reflect the qualities of God.
1256.901769 1259.181769 However, we are fallen.
1259.181769 1263.821769 So there is sin, but the sin is not a reflection of God.
1263.821769 1269.941769 So we need to be careful when we start ascribing God's qualities by looking at people.
1269.941769 1273.941769 We just need to draw that distinction that we're talking about the good stuff.
1273.941769 1274.941769 That's right.
1274.941769 1277.461769 That's why therapists have a job.
1277.461769 1278.461769 Yes.
1278.461769 1281.581769 Yes, this is true.
1281.581769 1283.301769 This is true.
1283.301769 1293.061769 So I think of creativity, love for other people, compassion, the way that people care for
1293.061769 1302.941769 each other and even their pets, the way we care for nature, the world around us, the way
1302.941769 1306.301769 we steward our resources.
1306.301769 1316.021769 And the way we create culture and society and systems of justice, yes, are far from perfect,
1316.021769 1322.061769 but our desire for justice is a reflection of a just God.
1322.061769 1323.781769 Yes.
1323.781769 1332.221769 It's compelling to think about these things in a time where, as we talked about on previous
1332.221769 1338.141769 episodes, people are so distant from each other and unconnected to community.
1338.141769 1343.381769 I mean, I'm just thinking back to our discussion on hospitality last week.
1343.381769 1346.661769 And I'm just putting this together in my brain.
1346.661769 1352.021769 That part of demonstrating hospitality to one another is helping us know God better.
1352.021769 1353.021769 Yes.
1353.021769 1356.221769 As we get to know each other, we stay connected with other people's lives.
1356.221769 1361.261769 The Holy Spirit is working in that to help us understand who He is better as well.
1361.261769 1363.261769 That's pretty beautiful.
1363.261769 1364.261769 That's very beautiful.
1364.261769 1366.581769 I'm kind of glad He designed it that way.
1366.581769 1367.581769 Me too.
1367.581769 1368.981769 Well, and that is one thing.
1368.981769 1375.501769 I don't know if we mentioned this yet, but just in case there's any doubt out there, listeners,
1375.501769 1380.341769 we do believe that God is triune: father, son and Holy Spirit.
1380.341769 1382.421769 Three in one.
1382.421769 1384.941769 Don't ask us to explain how that works.
1384.941769 1387.021769 That's a beautiful mystery.
1387.021769 1388.021769 That's right.
1388.021769 1393.541769 But that there is community within God himself and relationship within God himself.
1393.541769 1394.541769 Yeah.
1394.541769 1397.821769 And each part of the Trinity can trust the other part of the Trinity.
1397.821769 1398.821769 Yeah.
1398.821769 1400.541769 And they speak to each other about who they are.
1400.541769 1403.501769 As I think we've mentioned that before.
1403.501769 1408.701769 One of the things that I thought of as we were researching and preparing to have this
1408.701769 1415.141769 discussion with each other for you, our dear listeners, was one of my favorites, Rich
1415.141769 1418.461769 Mullins song Creed.
1418.461769 1422.221769 And we'll put the link, the lyrics and the link to the video.
1422.221769 1424.421769 We'll put it in our show notes.
1424.421769 1428.701769 This song talks about how I believe in God the Father, the Almighty Maker of Heaven and
1428.701769 1429.701769 Earth.
1429.701769 1433.661769 But the chorus says, I believe what I believe.
1433.661769 1436.061769 And that's what makes me what I am.
1436.061769 1437.061769 I did not make it.
1437.061769 1438.981769 No, it is making me.
1438.981769 1441.021769 It's the very truth of God.
1441.021769 1443.581769 And not the invention of any man.
1443.581769 1451.301769 We think about our lives and the way that we live them.
1451.301769 1458.661769 And as we move through, I think of Eugene Peterson as in addition to the message, his other
1458.661769 1459.661769 seminal work.
1459.661769 1460.661769 Okay, Tongue in Cheek.
1460.661769 1462.821769 Because the message is huge.
1462.821769 1465.981769 That's by the way, is like a literal translation.
1465.981769 1466.981769 Wait a minute.
1466.981769 1472.861769 Can I use literal as a definition of a literary thing?
1472.861769 1473.861769 I don't know.
1473.861769 1480.461769 It is an actual translation of the entire Bible in really beautiful prose, I guess I would
1480.461769 1481.621769 say, modern prose.
1481.621769 1486.421769 But anyway, here are a book called The Long Slow Obedience in the same direction.
1486.421769 1490.981769 And often just that phrase just is always in my mind.
1490.981769 1493.661769 As I think, sometimes life is a slog.
1493.661769 1495.341769 Yes, it is.
1495.341769 1499.701769 But also sometimes we get to skip and we get to dance.
1499.701769 1503.541769 And in the everyday we are obedient.
1503.541769 1508.341769 And so that long slow obedience in the same direction.
1508.341769 1512.981769 And when we think about the truth of God and what we believe, and this is what we've been
1512.981769 1515.781769 talking about today, who is God?
1515.781769 1518.941769 How do we know that he's trustworthy?
1518.941769 1526.221769 It is consistent, daily understanding and belief that he is who he says he is.
1526.221769 1533.541769 And that the wisdom and attributes that he has will continue to bear fruit and to move
1533.541769 1536.621769 us further along that path.
1536.621769 1547.401769 And someday when we reach the end of our time here on this earth as mortal women and men,
1547.401769 1555.581769 we will continue to live with him in community in a different way, along with all of the other
1555.581769 1558.901769 Christian brothers and sisters.
1558.901769 1563.501769 One of the things he said also is a reflection.
1563.501769 1565.141769 We mentioned a lot of God's attributes.
1565.141769 1569.101769 We were talking about who God says he is in Scripture.
1569.101769 1575.821769 The other wonderful thing about the Bible is it gives us a big picture view of how God
1575.821769 1578.301769 shows up for His people.
1578.301769 1582.381769 So in addition to these specific verses that we have read that are specific attributes
1582.381769 1588.981769 of God, the whole of the Bible shows us time and again that God keeps His promises and
1588.981769 1593.961769 that He trusts us, whether He is trustworthy to His people regardless of how far away they
1593.961769 1596.141769 stray from Him.
1596.141769 1602.941769 And if people are out there wondering, "Mary Beth, how do we put our heads around this?"
1602.941769 1606.381769 Might I recommend diving into some catechism?
1606.381769 1613.301769 Whoa, watch out. If your brain works at all like mine, it helps to process some things by
1613.301769 1618.821769 reading succinct statements of broad complicated themes.
1618.821769 1624.461769 So I was going to share one catechism question that I appreciate and have valued in my life
1624.461769 1626.181769 as of late.
1626.181769 1631.661769 But I would also just give a shout out to the Westminster catechism, Westminster, shorter
1631.661769 1635.581769 catechism, what I'm going to read is from the New City catechism.
1635.581769 1640.141769 There are just great questions and answers of fundamental truths about what we believe,
1640.141769 1645.221769 why we believe that they are all based in Scripture and have been something that the church
1645.221769 1648.901769 universal has, what different churches have passed down through generations.
1648.901769 1651.941769 So that's a lengthy intro.
1651.941769 1654.981769 This is a question from the New City catechism.
1654.981769 1659.101769 The question is, what is God? answer?
1659.101769 1663.061769 God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything.
1663.061769 1671.061769 He is eternal, infinite and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory,
1671.061769 1676.141769 wisdom, justice and truth.
1676.141769 1682.941769 And if I were to drop the mic, yeah, right, if I were to write a definition of, okay, create
1682.941769 1688.661769 in your mind the most trustworthy person, I would want them to be all those things.
1688.661769 1689.661769 Yes.
1689.661769 1693.101769 So we're going to put a link to that in the show notes.
1693.101769 1698.381769 We're going to put maybe a couple other resources, some songs that might help you along in this.
1698.381769 1703.261769 I also think it's helpful to read the story of Ruth in the Bible.
1703.261769 1704.661769 It's actually the Book of Ruth.
1704.661769 1706.061769 You can just go find it.
1706.061769 1708.741769 I also love the story of Esther in the Bible.
1708.741769 1710.261769 That's the book of the Bible.
1710.261769 1711.701769 Both of these are very short reads.
1711.701769 1715.701769 You can read it in an evening or less than that.
1715.701769 1725.181769 And two of my favorite stories about how God really was trustworthy and was working in situations
1725.181769 1732.501769 that really seemed sort of impossible, but that he had a plan and he was faithful.
1732.501769 1734.741769 So I find that to be helpful too.
1734.741769 1735.741769 All right.
1735.741769 1741.181769 Well, we have a request for you all.
1741.181769 1748.741769 We would like you to submit some questions to us that you would like to have a answer.
1748.741769 1749.741769 Yeah.
1749.741769 1756.741769 We are rapidly approaching the end of season one of trustworthy and for our final episode,
1756.741769 1759.221769 which will be two episodes right now.
1759.221769 1760.221769 Wait a minute.
1760.221769 1761.221769 What?
1761.221769 1762.221769 Yeah.
1762.221769 1763.221769 I know.
1763.221769 1768.021769 Hold on to your bonnet there, little Miss Sarah.
1763.221769 1763.221769 It's going to, it's going to be over.
1768.021769 1773.341769 Hopefully for a brief time, hopefully we will be back for season two, but we're thinking
1773.341769 1775.701769 for the final episode of the season.
1775.701769 1781.501769 Maybe there's some things that you want to know about us, about anything we've mentioned
1781.501769 1783.741769 and discussed.
1783.741769 1787.981769 We want to hear your questions and we might answer some of them in the final episode.
1787.981769 1790.501769 Sarah, how can they send us their questions?
1790.501769 1791.501769 Oh, they have.
1791.501769 1792.501769 There's a couple ways.
1792.501769 1793.501769 You can send the questions.
1793.501769 1800.941769 The first one is you can email us, listen@trustworthypodcast.com.
1800.941769 1804.861769 The second one is visit us on Instagram.
1804.861769 1808.421769 At this is Trustworthy.
1808.421769 1815.901769 Our dear listeners, thanks for tuning in today and we will talk to you next week.
1815.901769 1816.901769 Until then.
1816.901769 1818.421769 Further up and further in, my friends.
1818.421769 1834.421769 Psalm 1830-33.
1834.421769 1837.341769 As for God, His way is perfect.
1837.341769 1840.021769 The Lord's Word is flawless.
1840.021769 1843.661769 He shields all who take refuge in Him.
1843.661769 1849.541769 For who is God besides the Lord and who is the rock except our God?
1849.541769 1854.821769 It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.
1854.821769 1857.741769 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer.
1857.741769 1862.061769 He causes me to stand on the heights.
1862.061769 1871.741769 Join your two favorite podcast personalities next week as we talk about our personalities.
1871.741769 1890.581769 Until next time, this is Trustworthy.
1890.581769 1892.741769 Hey y'all, Mary Beth here.
1892.741769 1896.421769 Sarah and I are so glad that you chose to listen to our podcast.
1896.421769 1901.501769 And while we think that we're awesome friends to have, we just wanted to clarify that we are
1901.501769 1905.501769 not mental health professionals and want you to know that this podcast should not take
1905.501769 1908.421769 the place of any paid professional advice.