James MacDonald - How to Live by Faith
Summary:
Drawing from Nahum 1:7, the preacher stresses that God’s unchanging goodness is a refuge even in dark times when it’s hard to see, set against the backdrop of impending judgment on wicked Nineveh. He encourages believers to embrace God’s goodness by faith, leaning on Him in trouble rather than relying on self-strength, and assures that God intimately knows and notices those who trust Him. The message culminates in practical challenges to pursue «gold medal» faith—returning good for evil and sacrificing in prosperity—because God sees and rewards genuine trust.
Stand on the Goodness of God
Stand on the goodness of God even when it’s not obvious. Embrace it by faith with all of your heart. You’re not in a raffle barrel hoping to be the ticket that is chosen; you’re not a face in the crowd. You’re not a single person in a line that stretches to the horizon. You are known and loved by God, and He has a good plan for you regardless of what other people have said. Regardless of the choices that they have made, they cannot limit God’s goodness to you.
God is good. God is good. I think a lot of preachers a few years ago would say this in church, or worship leaders would say it. They would say, «God is good, ” and the people would respond, „All the time.“ Then the preacher would say, „And all the time.“ I’ve never done that. I remember the first time I heard it was in Jamaica, and it sounds really good with a Jamaican accent: „God is good all the time.“ And „God is good all the time.“
When Goodness Isn’t Obvious
I just really like the way that it sounds. The problem is that I’ve never wanted to say it in church because it seems to indicate that we’re always aware of His goodness. The problem is the times that’s not asserted in the Scriptures. While God says, „I am the Lord; I change not, ” and while it is true that God is always good because He doesn’t change, I would say there’s variation between the mountaintop of seeing and celebrating the goodness of God and the dark valley of having nothing tangible that I could point to in order to indicate that He’s good.
How many people have been to both those places? I’ve never provoked people to say it in church because, while I know that some people can’t wait to shout it and punctuate it with a hallelujah, there are other people who would be grieved to feel like they had to say it. It is true, but I can’t always see it, and that’s why I have to live by faith.
A Stronghold in Trouble
The Lord is good; this is when faith is the most important. The next phrase, „The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble.“ A stronghold of the devil. You know, there are a lot of preachers; those preachers on TV are the worst. There are a lot of those dang TV preachers who are always saying, „If you don’t have blessing, you must not have faith.“ If you’ve got a problem or a struggle, you must not have enough faith. That’s just so wrong.
Job said that a man’s days are few and full of trouble. Asaph said in Psalm 77, „In the day of trouble, I will seek the Lord.“ And God Himself says in Psalm 55:22, „Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you.“ That’s not a matter of learning about His goodness; that’s a matter of leaning. There was a song that was sung in the church I grew up in: „Learning to lean, learning to lean, learning to lean on Jesus.“ That’s the Christian life right there.
Forgiving, going to heaven, learning to lean, learning not to be strong in my own strength. This is how to live by faith—go to God in the day of trouble. I wish I could testify in front of our church family today that days of blessing have been days of faith growth for me. Romans says that the goodness of God should lead to repentance, but I have to say that the deepest days of faith growth for me have been the darkest days.
Growth in Dark Days
The days when I learned how to pray differently. The days when I learned how to seek more. The days when I found out just how strong His shoulder supply really is. Those are always days of hardship, and that’s why I love Nahum 1:7: „The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble.“ Now, „stronghold“ is not like a couple of years ago we did a series on thinking differently, and I think that’s been broadcast recently. In that series, „stronghold“ is used in the Bible as a pattern of thinking that is stubbornly resistant to God’s Word and God’s will.
This is not that, not in any way. It’s the same word used completely differently. Instead of a stubborn pattern of thinking, here the stronghold is a safe place protected by God. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. Now, this is where the context is going to help us. I’ve been quoting from the verse, but now I need you to actually look at Nahum with me.
The Context of Nahum
Notice verse 1: „An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum.“ Nahum got a vision from God, and the vision was about God’s intent to destroy the city of Nineveh. God had been storing up His wrath against the ungodliness of Nineveh, and now He was about to pour it out. Does God do things like that? Yeah, He does.
I think a lot of people are having a really hard time understanding what’s happening in America, but it really shouldn’t be that hard. We’ve now invested nearly a hundred years in rejecting the Word of God, rejecting the ways of God, seeing God through Jesus Christ as an intrusion upon the highest version of human happiness. Who would have ever thought that we would live to see a president in the White House who, by his actions, causes us to doubt whether he even loves America?
Are you following this election cycle? All in favor of bizarre? Shocking, really, isn’t it? Shocking if you believe that God only ever blesses everyone like some great sugar daddy in the sky who has no strong feelings about rampant wickedness. But that’s not the God of the Bible—not at all.
God’s Wrath and Goodness
What I see on the nightly news, I mean some days it’s like a cartoon. I can’t find the place where you’re supposed to laugh. Some days it’s like a bad dream, but I can’t wake up. The reality is that the condition in our country is not unlike Nineveh in the day of Nahum. Look at verse 2: „The Lord is a jealous and avenging God. The Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries and keeps wrath for His enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.“ In other words, just because He hasn’t acted yet, don’t think He won’t act; He has the capacity for it. „All His way is in the whirlwind; a storm and the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; He dries up all the rivers.“ Bashan and Carmel—those are mountains—“and the bloom of Lebanon withers.
The mountains quake before Him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before Him, the world and all who dwell in it.» Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the heat of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken in pieces by Him. And you’re like, «Whoa, what about Your people, Lord? What about Your children? What about Your church?»
Verse 7: «The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. You’re living in it, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.»
He Knows Those Who Trust Him
No kidding, this is my secret part; this is one of the coolest things in the whole Bible. That last phrase, «The Lord is good, ” that’s where my feet are standing. „A stronghold in the day of trouble, ” that’s what we’re running to. Now, I find this last phrase so motivational. This is a picture of Martin Luther, the great reformer, who was already a monk but unconverted.
In fact, it’s 500 years ago this year—can you believe that? —500 years ago this year that Martin Luther read in Habakkuk chapter 2, „The just shall live by faith, ” and he found out that his works righteousness were nothing before the Lord, and he was gloriously converted. He wanted to share it with everyone else. Interestingly, he was holding the same Bible you’re holding.
Here’s what Martin Luther says about Nahum 1:7: „An outstanding statement overflowing with consolation.“ I agree. Do you agree? I agree that this is an outstanding statement full of consolation, and I’m so thankful for it: „The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, ” and He knows—He knows—those who trust Him.
God’s Personal Knowledge
Here’s my little secret: like the kid on the baseball diamond who keeps looking to the stands to catch his father’s eye; like the little gymnastics girl who trains and trains and works and works for the reward of hearing her coach joyfully shout, „Well done!“ Like that kid on the baseball field, like that little girl in the gym, I am motivated by Nahum’s assertion that God knows when I’m trusting Him. He knows. That is a remarkable assertion.
Now, of course, someone’s going to say, „Of course He knows. He was studying the Bible; He knows everything.“ Okay, no, that’s not what it’s saying. That’s not what it’s saying. It’s more personal than that—more personal than God’s omniscience related to every fact in the universe. He’s not saying God knows; He knows those who trust Him in the same way He knows those who are in bankruptcy court and those who like popcorn—that’s not what it’s saying.
He knows everything; He knows. That’s not it—otherwise, why remark about it at all? The Bible is not a listing of all the things that God knows as facts; it’s much more practical than God’s infinite knowledge of all the facts of human history. Listen, it’s even more profound and liberating than the biblical declarations about God’s personal knowledge of me—that He knows my name and that He knows my thoughts from afar off and knows even the number of hairs on my head.
Really? You thought that was a good time? I used to be leading this sermon, but I’ve lost control. Love you too, and those are precious things, aren’t they? And they’re precious things that God knows my thoughts, that He’s acquainted with all of my ways, that He knows my frame and remembers that I am dust. This is better even than God’s personal knowledge of us as individuals.
Faith in Hurt: Bronze, Silver, Gold
Here it is: God knows what’s happening in my life right now, and He knows if I’m trusting Him—His promises, leaning on that. He knows when I’m conniving and striving and reaching and fixing, and He knows when I’m resting and waiting. Now, faith, as I said, is essential. It won’t surprise you to know that I think of it now since I learned Nahum 1:7. I think of it now as a competition. Kind of 1 John 5:4 says that faith is the victory that overcomes the world, and I want that win.
So as I close, I want to just give you two examples where faith is needed to make it as practical as I can, and I want to challenge you about bronze medal, silver medal, and gold medal faith. Ready? So let’s take something super common and obvious: someone harmed you, someone hurt you. They said something; they did something, maybe repeatedly. You’re not over it, but the Lord is good, and He’s a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who are trusting Him.
Here’s bronze medal faith for you: I’m not going to take vengeance. I’m not going to try to get payback. I’m not going to be mean-spirited or unkind in my thoughts or my actions. I’m going to trust God’s goodness, and God will know I’m doing it. I’m going to get into the stronghold and trust His goodness, and He’ll know it—bronze medal, well done.
But there’s more than just not taking vengeance. That’s what the world does. Ready for silver medal faith? If someone’s hurt you, forgiveness—I’m going to forgive them; I’m going to write it off; I’m going to let it go; I’m going to release them from the obligation that resulted when they injured me. They don’t owe me anymore, and I’m not looking for payback. I’m not going to show them how much they hurt me or try to hurt them in return. I’m not looking for a return; I am a forgiving person, and I’m going to forget. Step to the podium, please—silver medal, well done. Not easy to get a silver medal.
But do you want gold? Gold medal faith when someone has hurt you is doing good to them. „Bless those that curse you; pray for those who despitefully use you.“ One of my favorite passages is in 2 Samuel chapter 9—a story I’ve never preached on for some reason. David, who was on the run for his life, chased down by Saul—Saul was going to kill him! Saul shamed him; he lied about him; he did every imaginable thing against David.
David and Mephibosheth
After Saul was dead, after his friend Jonathan and Saul’s son were dead, David’s in the palace. David’s on the throne. 2 Samuel 9—Saul’s dead; David’s king. What now? Is he walking around the palace, you know, like it’s the way it’s supposed to? No, not at all, actually—not at all. Not God’s man.
David says in 2 Samuel 9:1, „Is there anyone left from the household of Saul that I may show kindness to him?“ Now in ancient Israel, when you beat your enemies, you killed their family because you couldn’t have one of them growing up and coming to get you later. And you need to know it was done. So he calls for this kid, Mephibosheth, and he is grown. He’s Jonathan’s son, Saul’s grandson.
He comes walking into the palace. He’s got this like club foot thing, and he comes walking in expecting to die in the next thirty seconds under the wrath of the king who is now on the throne, whom his grandfather tried to murder. And David reaches out his hand to him, and he says, „Everyone in your family can live over here. I’m going to take care of all of you for the rest of my life, but not you; you come sit at my table and eat with me for the rest of your life.“ Saul’s grandson—wow! For that action, we have reserved the gold medal of faith. Please step to the podium; that is, everyone say, „Awesome!“
Alright. And God knows who’s doing that and who isn’t. I want to be that guy.
Faith in Prosperity: Bronze, Silver, Gold
One more example, and we’re going to go—not that someone hurt you, but you’ve actually been incredibly prospered. Your business is growing; your bonus came in; the deal got done; the finances have increased. You’re doing better than you ever thought you would do in your life, better than a lot of people thought you would do. What does faith do now?
Bronze medal: stewardship, generosity. I’m going to give those who come for breakfast and like kids the other day. I paid. Alright, well, that’s good. I mean, that is good, you know? And yeah, I was stingy for my whole life, but now God’s really blessed me enough, and I want to be a generous person. Awesome, awesome—that’s really great. A lot of people are not like that; that’s a big deal, and I don’t minimize it in any way. But don’t you want the silver medal?
The silver medal of how to handle blessing and prosperity is not generosity; it’s stewardship. The silver medal is service. Did you know that most financially secure people do not engage in serving the Lord in any significant way? The work of this church is carried on by the young families and by those, certainly not by those who are financially secure? Those aren’t the workers—not in this church.
There are certainly wonderful faith exceptions, but the vast majority of people who are secure are secure enough to say, „I think I don’t need to do that anymore.“ „I’m financially secure; I don’t work; I don’t serve; I give—I give a lot; that should be enough. Let me get on with my own life.“ Faith fail. Stay engaged; engage more—not just in generosity, but in rolling up your sleeves and working.
Then this gold medal play—this gold medal play is sacrifice. The biblical justification for that comes from 2 Samuel 24:24, where David, as king, in a position where he needed to worship God and offer a sacrifice, and someone came to David and said, „Here, use my animal; use my threshing floor; I’m giving it to you.“ And David said these words, 2 Samuel 24:24: „I will not offer to the Lord that which cost me nothing.“
Gold medal! I’m going to sacrifice, no matter how much I have or how much I get. I’m going to be able to point to the things that I could have had that I would have had if I wasn’t serving the Lord. Stop thinking that serving the Lord means you’ll have everything. It doesn’t mean that. It means that you’ll have things you can point to that you wouldn’t have had had you not served the Lord the way you have.
And God’s goodness is rushing upon you this moment, and you’ll be glad that you lived. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who trust Him.