Let me tell you about the Ned Brown who existed before coming to Christ.
I’d heard the gospel. I knew who Jesus was – at least, I thought I did. And here’s where my mind got stuck:
On one side, there’s Jesus. Good guy. Moral code. Believes in the golden rule. Treats people nicely. But if He’s really God, why are so many bad things happening in the world?
On the other side, there’s God the Father. Science tells me He exists. Creation tells me He exists. Everything around me points to a Creator. But does that mean Jesus actually speaks for Him? Is Jesus any different from Gandhi or Buddha or other religious teachers?
This controversy went on for years.
But here’s what finally broke through: Sooner or later, you have to recognize that God the Father – the Creator of all things, the master of physics and astrophysics – has put His seal on Jesus and said, “He speaks for Me. He represents Me. Not only that, He and I are one.”
You can’t pit them against each other. They’re together.
And once you get that, everything changes – including how you handle the moments when life stops making sense.
The Crowd That Wanted a King (For the Wrong Reasons)
In John 6, Jesus feeds 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. The reaction?
“This is truly the prophet who has come into the world!”
Sounds great, right? Sounds like faith. But look at what happens next:
“When Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.” (John 6:15)
Why were they ready to make Him king?
Because they got a free meal.
They weren’t following Jesus because they believed in who He was. They were following Him because of what He could give them.
Jesus called them out on it: “Most assuredly I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled” (John 6:26).
This scenario fits perfectly in our world today. There are a lot of people who call themselves Christians, and they’re happy to be called Christians – as long as they’re getting what they want.
“I’m a Christian as long as my finances are great, my health is great, I’ve got the right spouse, I’ve got good children, everything’s hunky-dory.”
But what happens when the bread runs out?
Why Peter Sank: A Lesson in Faith and Doubt
You know the story. Jesus is walking on the water. Peter sees Him and says, “Lord, if it’s You, tell me to come to You.”
Jesus says, “Come.”
Peter gets out of the boat. He walks on the water – actually walks on the water.
And then he starts to sink.
Why? What happened?
He saw the sea boisterous and disturbed. He looked around at the waves. And Jesus was right there, but Peter’s eyes were on the storm.
Jesus pulled him up and said, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Here’s the application: What took control of Peter’s reaction? The waves.
And isn’t that exactly what happens to us? We’re walking in faith, following Jesus, things are going fine – and then the waves show up. Health problems. Financial struggles. Relationship conflicts. Unexpected tragedy.
We look at the waves. We take our eyes off Jesus. And we start to sink.
Christian faith when life is hard isn’t about pretending the waves don’t exist. It’s about keeping your eyes on the One who walks on them.
Is “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” a One-Time Thing?
Here’s a question that might trip you up: What does believe on the Lord Jesus Christ mean?
Is it a one-and-done thing? You say a prayer once, and you’re good forever?
Well… yes and no.
When it comes to salvation, absolutely. The Scripture tells us that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Salvation is settled the moment you trust in Christ.
But here’s where we fall into a trap: We think believing is only about that initial moment – and then we stop believing in the daily moments.
Think about Abraham. He believed God. He forsook his homeland and followed God’s call. And yet…
When he faced a famine and went to a foreign country, what did he do? He lied about Sarah being his wife because he was afraid they’d kill him to take her.
Is that the action of someone who’s fully trusting God in the moment?
Think about Moses. Hebrews says “by faith Moses forsook Egypt.” But when God called him to go back to Egypt and speak to Pharaoh, what did Moses say?
“I can’t talk. My speech is flawed. I’m not an orator.”
Moses believed in God – but he didn’t trust God with this particular assignment.
What does it mean to believe in Jesus daily? It means more than just the initial decision for salvation. It means trusting Him in every moment – especially the moments that don’t make sense.
“Trust Me on This”
Here’s a phrase you’ve probably heard before – maybe at work, maybe in a family situation:
“You’re just going to have to trust me on this.”
I don’t see it anywhere in Scripture where Jesus says those exact words. But my whole life has been that way.
There are things I just can’t understand.
I was about halfway through my career, and it had been several years since I’d gotten a raise. I was thinking, “They don’t appreciate me anymore.”
A few days later, a headhunter called with another job opportunity. Instead of praying about it, I called the headhunter back. I went for an interview. I was ready to jump ship.
Long story short: I got a raise – but not because of anything I did. A coworker I’d worked with for years pointed out to my employer that I hadn’t had a raise in a while. My employer came, apologized, and gave me the raise.
Who was responsible for keeping me in that job? God kept me there. He kept me there so I could be here instead of somewhere else.
I could have talked to God about this. I didn’t. I just called a headhunter.
But God was still saying, “Trust me on this.”
How to Trust God When Things Don’t Make Sense
Trusting God when you don’t understand isn’t natural. It goes against everything in us.
We want explanations. We want reasons. We want to understand why before we move forward.
But faith doesn’t work that way.
When God called Abraham to leave his homeland, Abraham might have asked, “Where am I going?”
God’s answer? “You don’t need to know. Trust me on this.”
When Abraham hadn’t had a son yet, he said, “But I’m old. There are so many reasons why this must be wrong.”
God said, “Trust me on this.”
When Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison, I can imagine him praying: “I didn’t expect this. How did this happen? Intervene for me here.”
God didn’t intervene the way Joseph wanted. But I can hear God saying, “Trust me on this.”
When Peter denied the Lord three times and then met the risen Jesus on the shore, Jesus said, “Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep.”
If I were Peter, I would have said, “You know my failures. You know who I am. You’re expecting me to do this?”
And I can hear Jesus saying, “Peter, trust me on this.”
Why Does God Allow Suffering in My Life?
This is the question underneath all the other questions.
Why does God allow suffering in my life?
I don’t have a complete answer. Nobody does. But here’s what I know:
God the Father has put His seal on Jesus Christ. He has said, “This is My Son. He speaks for Me. You can trust what He says.”
And Jesus keeps saying the same thing over and over: “Trust me on this.”
When your health is in question – trust me on this.
When your finances are uncertain – trust me on this.
When your friends desert you – trust me on this.
When bad things happen that make no sense – trust me on this.
The whole practice of the Christian life is hearing that voice and learning to respond: “Yes, Lord. I trust You.”
The Day You Finally Say “Yes, Lord”
There’s a bright spot in all of this.
You might arrive at a place one day where Jesus says, “Trust me on this” – and instead of arguing, instead of doubting, instead of looking at the waves, you simply say:
“Yes, Lord. I trust You.”
Job got there. His whole life was falling apart. His children were dead. His health was gone. His friends were accusing him. And he said:
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15)
Abraham got there. After all his failures – lying about Sarah, scheming with Hagar– God said something that seemed completely contrary: “Take Isaac up on the mountain and kill him.”
Isaac was the son of promise. Isaac was supposed to carry the family forward. And God said, “Kill him.”
I can hear God saying to Abraham on the way up that mountain: “You can trust me on this.”
And Abraham did. He took his son. He raised the knife. And at the last moment, God said, “Stop. Now I know that you trust Me.”
Hebrews tells us Abraham believed that even if he killed Isaac, God would raise him back to life. That’s faith beyond understanding.
Learning to Trust God Through Trials
I haven’t arrived there yet. Probably you haven’t either.
But the rest of my life as a Christian will be filled with hearing Jesus say, “You can trust me on this.”
And slowly, through trials and struggles and moments that don’t make sense, I’m learning to trust God through trials – not because I understand, but because I know who He is.
God the Father put His seal on Jesus Christ. He said, “This is the One. You can trust Him.”
And I don’t know what the rest of my life is going to look like. I have no clue.
But I will remember this verse. And I will remember this phrase:
“You can trust me on this.”
