Not in uncertain riches, not in my own ability, not in my social position, not in my own moral principles, not in happy circumstances, not in the friendship of the world, not even the favor of Christians, not in sacraments, not in my repentance, not in my prayers, nor in my obedience.
I will trust in Him, for He is the most trustworthy being in the universe.
✦ Stripping Away Everything That Is Not Him
George Bowen — the white sadhu of Bombay, the man who resigned from his missionary society and lived in poverty among the Indian people for forty years — begins not by naming what to trust in but by naming everything that is not trustworthy. And it is a devastating list.
The first items are obvious. Not uncertain riches — of course. Not social position — yes, fine. Not the friendship of the world — agreed. But then Bowen goes deeper, and this is where the blade reaches bone: not my own moral principles. Not my repentance. Not my prayers. Not even my obedience.
He is stripping away the good things. The things a Christian would instinctively cling to. Your prayers are not your foundation. Your obedience is not your foundation. Your repentance is not your foundation. He is your foundation. Everything else is scaffolding. Luther said it four days ago beside the canal: ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say or can do. Bowen says the same: not what I wish, not what I say, not what I can do. Only Him. 🙏
Shall a child trust in its parent, a bride in the bridegroom, a soldier in his general, a captive in his deliverer, a patient in his physician — shall men in all conditions abound in trust towards their fellow-men, and shall I not trust in the Almighty who hath shown Himself so gracious to me?
Is there more than one being existent, of whom it can be said that heaven and earth shall pass away sooner than His least word? There is but one, and in Him I will trust.
✦ Shall I Not Trust?
Bowen's argument is not theological abstraction. It is plain observation. A child trusts its parent. A bride trusts the bridegroom. A captive trusts his deliverer. A patient trusts his physician. These are ordinary human experiences of trust — imperfect people trusting other imperfect people in the daily course of life. And Bowen says: shall men abound in trust towards their fellow-men, and shall I not trust in the Almighty?
The disproportion is the point — just as James Smith prayed it days ago: How wondrous is His love! If we trust imperfect humans every day without thinking twice, how much more should we trust the One of whom it can be said that heaven and earth shall pass away sooner than His least word? There is only one such being in the universe. Only one whose word outlasts everything. And Bowen says — there is but one, and in Him I will trust. 🙏
"'Take,' says Satan; 'trust,' says God."
George Bowen · Two Words, Two KingdomsI will trust, said Peter; and the sea became as rock beneath his feet. I will trust, said the woman; though the disciples said, send her away; and her daughter was healed. I will trust, said Daniel, and was delivered.
I will save my life, said Peter, and denied his Lord.
I will trust, said he afterward, and laid him down to sleep; then came the angel of the Lord, and brought him forth from prison. What mean ye to weep and to break my heart? said Paul; I will trust.
✦ "Take" and "Trust" — The War of the Soul
"Take," says Satan; "trust," says God. Six words. Two kingdoms. The entire war of the soul compressed into a single line. Satan's strategy has always been the same since Eden — take. Take the fruit. Take control. Take matters into your own hands. And God's word has always been the same — trust. Don't take. Receive. Rest. Lean. Believe.
And then Bowen walks through Scripture and shows what trust looks like in action — and what happens when trust is abandoned. Peter trusted, and the sea became rock. The Canaanite woman trusted — though the disciples themselves said send her away — and her daughter was healed. Daniel trusted, and was delivered from the lions.
But then — I will save my life, said Peter, and denied his Lord. The same Peter. The same night. The moment he switched from "I will trust" to "I will save myself," everything collapsed. Trust, and the sea holds you. Take, and you sink.
And then the most beautiful turn of all: I will trust, said he afterward, and laid him down to sleep. Acts 12 — Peter in chains, in prison, the night before his execution. And he is asleep. So deeply asleep that the angel had to strike him on the side to wake him. That is not the bold trust of the one who has never failed. That is the deeper trust of the one who denied his Lord, wept bitterly, was restored by grace, and now sleeps in chains because he knows Who holds him. That is a trust that has been through the fire. Spurgeon said yesterday: remember how Daniel came out of the lions' den. Yours is not so desperate a case — but if it were, the Lord would bear you through. Peter's was desperate. And the Lord bore him through. 🙏
To trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, and ability of God. As thoughts of impossibility come across my mind, I say: nothing will be impossible to God.
✦ Nothing Will Be Impossible to God
Le names it plainly: trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, and ability of God. Not a feeling. Not a mood. Not optimism. Firm belief. And when the thoughts of impossibility rise — as they do, every day, in every human heart — she meets them with the angel's word to Mary: nothing will be impossible to God (Luke 1:37). The same word spoken at the beginning of the Gospel she is reading through every morning. The word that preceded the birth of the Savior Himself.
This is the practice Spurgeon called for yesterday: fear to fear, be afraid to be afraid. When impossibility whispers, trust answers. Not by explaining how the impossible will become possible. Not by seeing the way forward. But by knowing the One who sees it. 🙏
The things on my mind, the things in my heart that are beyond my ability to see how they can be reconciled — they can be reconciled by You.
I've seen over and over again that nothing is impossible with You. You see things differently than I do, and so You bring about things in ways I could never conceive — for all our good and Your glory. 🙏
✦ You See Things Differently Than I Do
This is one of the most mature prayers a human soul can pray. It does not ask God to do what she wants. It does not ask God to explain how He will do it. It says: I cannot see the way, but I know You can. The things that look impossible to me are not impossible to You. And You see differently. And You bring about things in ways I could never conceive.
Isaiah knew: My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8–9). The gap between His seeing and ours is not a source of anxiety. It is a source of rest. Because the One who sees differently is the same One whom Bowen calls the most trustworthy being in the universe.
And the evidence — I've seen over and over again. This is not hope based on theory. This is hope based on evidence. The 500 denari soul has watched God reconcile the irreconcilable before. She has the receipts. The midnight hospital. The conversion no one predicted. The marriage. The pilgrimage from Dallas to Portugal. The mornings before dawn, year after year. Over and over and over again — He brought about things in ways she could never have conceived. And so she trusts. Not blindly. Not naively. With the firm belief that comes from having seen Him do it before.
For all our good and Your glory. Not my good alone. Our good. Your glory. The prayer of a soul that has stopped taking and learned to trust. Bowen would recognize it. Peter, asleep in chains, would recognize it. Paul, on his way to Jerusalem knowing what awaited him, would recognize it. What mean ye to weep and to break my heart? I will trust. 🙏
"You see things differently than I do, and so You bring about things in ways I could never conceive — for all our good and Your glory."
A Prayer · From Villeneuve-lès-Béziers · I Will TrustNot in These — In Him
Not in riches, ability, position, morals, repentance, prayers, or obedience. Bowen strips away every scaffolding — even the good things — until only the foundation remains. There is but one trustworthy being in the universe. In Him I will trust.
"Take" vs. "Trust"
Two words, two kingdoms. Satan says take — the fruit, the control, the self-rescue. God says trust — receive, rest, lean, believe. Peter trusted and the sea held. Peter took and denied his Lord. The same man. The same night. The war of the soul.
Peter Asleep in Chains
After the denial, after the weeping, after the restoration — Peter slept in prison the night before execution. So deeply that an angel had to strike him awake. Not the trust of the untested. The deeper trust of the one who failed, was forgiven, and now knows Who holds him.