The Cat, our trust, and God's faithfulness

A few years ago, a pastor in Romania was arrested by the police because of his Christian activities. When he was arrested and taken to jail, the jailer taunted him about his belief in God.

Rubbing his stomach the jailer said, Can your God take good care of you like the State takes care of me? Our pastor reassured the jailer that his God could take care of him. "Oh! So you think your God can take care of you as well as the State takes care of me?" The Pastor said yes.

"OK," the jailer said. "I will give you only water for the next 4 days and we will see how well your God takes care of you."

The Pastor was taken to a cell and the door was locked. Our Pastor began to pray very earnestly and fervently to God for his protection and needs. He told God that he was his servant and he did not know how God would provide for his needs but he knew that God would take care of him.

As he was praying he heard a cat meow and when he opened his eyes he saw a cat just outside the cell with a slice of bread in its mouth. He then reached through the cell and took the bread from the cat's mouth.Next he took and broke off the piece which the cat had in its mouth and put that in his pocket and then ate the bread.

Each morning and evening for the following four days at the same time the cat came bringing the bread in its mouth.

On the fourth day the jailer returned expecting to find a very hungry man. "Well," the jailer said, "look at how well the State has taken care of me and how has your God taken care of you?"

"Oh!" the pastor replied, rubbing his stomach, "God has taken good care of me also." The jailer, being curious, asked how that was done. "Well," the Pastor said, "twice a day God sent a cat with a piece of bread in its mouth for me."

As he was speaking the cat meowed and as the jailer looked down he saw the cat with the bread in its mouth. "That is my house cat bringing my bread from my table," said the surprised jailer. "Yes, surely your God did take care of you."

This story by Tim Cove really encouraged me, not only because of the cat. I was encouraged by how exceedingly abundantly God rewards our faith. We usually agree in theory that God is all-powerful, that He is our provider... but when it comes to crunch time, we're just as realistic as any new age spiritualist. We tend to believe what our eyes see and not have faith in God's unseen promises. (It's true, right?)

So how can we move from merely saying that we believe, to really trusting?

1. Live by faith and not by sight.

Things which you believe by faith can't be proven. If it could be, you wouldnt need faith already lah! So it doesnt make sense to impose conditions for faith... "I dont believe unless XXX can be proven." Read Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". Since human eyesight is limited, and things arent always what they seem, dont trust your eyes. Instead, have faith in God! He is more reliable than your eyesight...

Let us not allow a declaration of faith made during a spiritual high to fizzle out once we see something discouraging. That would be a huge waste. You know why? Because even though we cant see it, faith makes things happen. Jesus promised that with the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains. Just don't expect it to be instant!

What happens is not seen to our eyes yet. It happens in the spiritual realm first. Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places".

The good news is, we dont have to fight this battle. God does it for us! Proverbs 21:31 "The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But victory belongs to the LORD". By the same power that Jesus overcame death, we will overcome doubt.

2. Trust with your heart

I memorized Proverbs 3:5-7 as a child but 15 years later I now see it in a different light. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowlege Him and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil".

Yup, sounds like your typical proverb: do-this-and-i-promise-you-this-style. But look again. It says trust in the Lord with all your heart. Not brain, intellect, feelings. In fact, it says "lean not on your own understanding". As I grew older, this proverb was harder to apply, since I thought myself to be 'cleverer'. You know, pandai pandai try to fix it first, if tak jadi then only go to God, right? Big mistake.

All my screw ups happened when I relied on my own understanding. That's how I found out that my intellect is limited, my emotions faulty, and my brain prone to mistakes. After many messes, I realized I needed to stop relying on the unreliable me, and turn to the totally reliable God. This sounds corny, but it's the way to go: Trust God and just let go.

Those are just 2 ways we can increase our level of trust in God.

2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves".

This week, let me challenge you to raise your level of faith in God just a teeny-weeny little notch. Let Him take over in areas you never allowed Him to before. Act on your faith by giving a bigger offering than usual. Hold on to your faith by rebuking doubts when they arise in your head. Do anything with faith in Him, and you'll be amazed at His response!

Trusting God is hard, but it's not as hard as it sounds. Besides, it's worth it!

Encourage one another with your experiment by posting your comments on this.

Remember, as we trust God, he is faithful to reward our trust in ways we can't even imagine!