(Adapted from a sermon preached on 7/28/19)

According to a story I once heard, a man found himself trapped in his house in the middle of a great flood. As the waters started rising, he prayed that God would somehow rescue him.

Sometime later, the man saw someone paddling by in a rowboat. He considered shouting for help, but then thought, They’re too far away; they probably wouldn’t be able to hear me.

About an hour after this, as the waters continued to rise, the man saw a cruise ship going by. Once again, he considered shouting out to them, but figured it would be pointless, since they were too high up above the water to hear him.

Finally, as the waters were just about to cover the man, he saw a helicopter flying overhead. He considered waving his arms for help, but thought, They’re moving so fast, they won’t even notice me down here.

As the waters rose over the man’s head, he began treading water, but it was little use; the water was rising too quickly, and the man wasn’t a very good swimmer.

In a last act of desperation, the man screamed out, “You said you were going to help me, God! Where have you been?”

To the man’s surprise, he heard a response – “I sent you a rowboat, a cruise ship, and a helicopter, but you didn’t call out to any of them! What more do you want from me?”

This story is almost certainly fictional; but it speaks to what I feel is the main point of today’s Gospel reading – God can be trusted. Like the man in the story, we may not always recognize God at work; but God is at work on our behalf, and God can be trusted.

In today’s Gospel text, some of Jesus’ disciples ask Him how to pray more effectively. Jesus’ response is what we now know as “the Lord’s prayer.” While this prayer says many things, one of the most basic is that we can trust God.

“When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name,’ Jesus says (Luke 11:2). The term Father is used here, not to say that God is male (the God I know is both male and female), but to express intimacy.

God isn’t an abstract idea, or a nameless force that we can call on for good luck; rather, the Creator of the universe knows us personally, and loves us unconditionally – like a good parent. This was an astonishing claim in Jesus’ time, and still is.

Jesus continues by telling His disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3). Here we see we can trust God to provide what we need, one day at a time. This can help keep us from worrying about the future, by focusing only on what we need today.

After Jesus tells His disciples how to pray, He tells a story about a man whose friend comes to him in the middle of the night asking for loaves of bread.

“Even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs,” Jesus says (Luke 11:8).

Sometimes persistence is the only way to get what we need! So if it seems that God isn’t giving us what we need, it’s okay to “bug” God until we get it. God is big enough to take our anger and our bargaining, as the story of Abraham teaches (Gen 18:20-33).

The whole point of this story is, that if we stay persistent, we will get whatever it is we need. “Ask, and it will be given,” Jesus says. “Search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you” (Luke 11:9).

Sometimes this can be hard to believe, especially when it takes a long time. But the good news here is that we never need to worry about being “locked out” of heaven; if we really desire to be with the Lord, we will be!

Jesus ends this passage by making a comparison between God and a human parent. If our child asked for a fish, we wouldn’t give them a snake, Jesus reasons; nor would we give them a scorpion if they asked for an egg!

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,” Jesus says, “how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13).

Jesus calls His disciples evil because in comparison to God’s love, our love looks evil. That is how powerful and unconditional God’s love is.

Jesus also says that if we ask, God will give us the Holy Spirit – and this is quite a gift! God’s direct presence in us can sustain us in a way nothing else can. So if we’re not feeling God’s love, we can ask, and God will make this known to us.

Having said all of this, I have to admit that it can be hard for me to trust God sometimes – and I know I’m not the only one that struggles with this.

How can God be trusted, we may wonder, when we’re sick and healing doesn’t come? How can God be trusted, when we’re struggling to make ends meet? How can God be trusted, when we’ve been looking for a spouse for years, and no suitable mate can be found? How can God be trusted, when it seems like all our loved ones are dying? How can God be trusted, when war, famine, and desolation never seem to end?

The truth is that God doesn’t exempt any of us from suffering. Most of us will experience sickness, pain, loneliness, and grief at some during our lives – and all of us will die. Even so, I still believe God can be trusted – for at least two reasons:

For one thing, God walks with us in our suffering – and God’s love is so powerful that when we feel it, we can bear almost anything. At times God’s presence has felt like the entire universe was hugging me – and I feel I could get through almost anything with that much love!

And while God may not be able to keep our bodies from eventual destruction, our souls are absolutely safe with God.

In another passage from the gospel of Luke, Jesus tells us that even if we die, “not a hair of your head will perish,” and that by our endurance, we “will gain our souls” (Luke 21:8-9).

I don’t know exactly how this will work, but in some way I know it to be true. I have seen too much evidence of eternal life (including the presence of Jesus and the saints) to discount it.

So yes, suffering and death come to everyone; but God’s presence will give us the strength to bear it, and will remain with us always – both now and into eternity. Let this be our hope today. Amen!