Really?

“Do you really trust in God?” Have you ever had anybody ask you that in your Christian life? Or perhaps a similar question?

I still remember an encounter I had with a young man named Tom Philips, who was heading up a volunteer group with the Billy Graham Crusade when it came to my home city of Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1975. He was about 15 years younger than I and a Baptist seminary student. He had taken off a year to travel with the Crusade team to learn about evangelism.

My wife and I were new Christians when we volunteered to work with what was then called the “Co-labor Corps.” She did administrative work and I called on churches to enlist their participation in the Crusade. Tom and I hit it off right from the start and when the end of the Crusade was in sight I decided to pick his spiritual brain a little about ministry. My complaint was that I had been a Christian for a year and I felt no call to ministry. So I asked him, “When is God going to call me for ministry, if ever? I don’t know what He wants me to do and I’m not sure He will ever use me.” I’ll never forget his reply.

He looked right at me and asked me this question. “Do you trust in God?” I immediately said, “Yes,” (as every Christian should, right?). Then he looked at me again with his dark brown piercing eyes, as if he was staring right into my soul and asked me again, “Do you really trust in God?” It was like he was saying to me, “Is that your final answer?” (Because if it was, I was going to have to live and die by it).

This time I paused and I began to think about my answer for a while. I realized that not only was Tom waiting on my reply but maybe, so was God. In fact, I felt as if all of heaven was tuned in. “Did I really trust in God, I mean, really?”

I finally looked back at Tom and said, “Yes, yes I do.” He replied, “Then what are you worried about? God is going to temper you first and then He’s going to use you in ways you can never imagine.”

That was over 40 years ago. I went away to college the next year to prepare for ministry and eventually returned as an Associate Pastor at the same church where I received Jesus Christ as my Savior. Later I became the Senior Pastor. Tom went on to spend many more years with Billy Graham and traveled all over the world preparing and challenging workers at the Crusades, just as he did to me. He now heads up the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC.

Isn’t it amazing what God will do when you decide to really trust him? Thanks, Tom Phillips for asking me for my final answer and yes, I still trust in God. Really!

How about you dear reader? Maranatha!