Author: Paul Nordman

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Trusting in His Character

The elderly woman recalled the time when she was a little girl and the circus was coming to town. Her father promised to take her, and when the big day of the big top arrived, she waited in eager anticipation for him to come for her. And she waited. And waited. He never came. More than 75 years later, she cried as she told the story, for the pain of a father’s promise broken and a child’s hope dashed still ran deep. I wondered how that one single letdown—seemingly small in the scope of life, but then again not in the life of one so small—affected her ability to trust others or her willingness to hope for good things in life.

Letdowns naturally lead to shutdowns. The world is filled with imperfect people, and in their imperfection, they hurt us, just as we with our flaws harm them. Then rather than risk more pain, we close off part of ourselves; trust itself—perhaps even our faith in God—becomes a casualty. Yet the character of God is different than our own: He is the One who pursues us, like a father eagerly scanning the horizon for his wayward child. He doesn’t forget us or break His promises, for faithful is His character. Hear His appeal through the prophet Isaiah: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”1 How encouraging this promise! How flawless the integrity of Him who utters it!

Sometimes it may feel as though God lets us down. I remember as a young boy, for instance, praying for my father to survive a heart attack, but he didn’t. Crushed, I became distrustful of God and eventually very angry with Him. Yet over time God has opened my eyes to see His incessant presence in my life, even when I failed Him or blamed Him for failing me. I’ve come to realize He is constantly preparing His people for life in His presence—steadily burning away our earthly desires and shifting our focus toward the marvels of a new heaven and a new earth. And when this “big top” comes to town, Jesus will be there to take us with Him, just as He promised: “After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am.”2 He will be there for us, for He is faithful. We can trust Him.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Father, though people let us down, You will not. Forgive us for ever doubting Your goodness, faithfulness and love. We trust You with our lives. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Isaiah 49:5
2 John 14:3

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What Matters Most

During my freshman year of college, the January temperatures in central Ohio dropped low enough and long enough for a nearby pond to freeze over. Someone in the dorm came around recruiting for an afternoon of hockey. Let’s go! It felt so good to be back out on the ice, though skating and puck control on a pond were trickier than when playing on the smoother rink surfaces to which I was accustomed, for pond ice is almost always bumpier. It was also less reliable, I found, for at some point in the afternoon my right skate broke through the ice and plunged into the water beneath. I quickly pulled it out and continued to play a while longer, but not with the same level of confidence, for the ice had proved itself unworthy of my trust.

Sometimes we hear people say it doesn’t matter what we believe, as long as we believe in “something.” Some decree all religions lead to God, that they all believe in essentially the same things. But this is simply not compatible with Biblical teaching. Early in His earthly ministry, Jesus explained, “Whoever believes in [the Son of God] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”1 And the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus assured His disciples with this exclusive truth-claim: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”2 Where we place our faith truly matters.

It was a different winter, this time near my hometown in northern Michigan. Lake Huron was ice covered, and I decided to walk out on it. The further I ventured out, the darker the ice appeared—the lake was getting deeper and the ice becoming thinner. I was somewhat wary, yet adventuresome, so I continued until at some point I thought I had gone farther than I should and it would be best to turn around and head back toward land. Though by now I had become anxious of my situation, the ice proved itself strong enough to hold me above the depths below and return me safely to shore.

Which matters more—the size of our faith, or the object of our faith? It is the latter. Misplaced confidence, no matter how bold, will always let us down; but even shaky faith in the unshakable Savior is faith well placed. In Him we are safe.

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12)

Father, thank You for loving us enough to save us. Grace us not to doubt, but to place our faith in Your Son, for life is found in Him alone. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

1 John 3:18
2 John 14:6

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No Sin Too Great

The prisoner’s body language told his story as no words could convey—his shoulders hunched as if perpetually bearing the weight of guilt and his face indelibly etched in constant grief. The solitary lockdown of “Jason’s” soul seemed far more isolating than his confinement behind rolled-steel bars and razor wire fences. The only reason Jason did not take his own life, he would say later, was that he needed to suffer for his offense. Yet when Jason entered the room on the fourth and final day of our Kairos Prison Ministry weekend, his face glowed—his eyes sparkled and a broad smile of relief radiated peace and joy from within. We were stunned.

We all regret our wrongs; we should. They’re real, and they are serious before a just and holy God. The fact that our sins have not landed us in jail make them no less egregious than if they had. It was Paul, that great apostle to the Gentiles, who confessed, “I am the worst [sinner] of them all.”1 His were not gratuitous words of false humility, for this self-proclaimed “wretched man”2 knew the depth of his sin. Yet he knew also the mercy of God and the power of the gospel: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”3

Saturdays on a Kairos weekend focus on forgiving self, forgiving others, and receiving forgiveness from God. We consider His promises, such as this from Isaiah, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow …”4 and again from John, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”5 No wrong we have committed can exceed the height of God’s love for us; no offense runs deeper than His grace. And as Saturday drew to a close, Jason received this forgiveness. “This morning when I looked in the mirror,” he told us the next day, “for the first time in nineteen years I liked what I saw.” For he saw what God saw: a forgiven man made new—his sins gone, and his burden lifted. I’ve seen Jason many times over the ensuing years, and his face still glows as a testimony to the freedom of forgiveness over the captivity of sin.

If God forgave Paul, the self-proclaimed “the worst sinner of them all,” He will forgive you, too. Dare to trust Him; dare to believe. Then let your story shine.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12).

Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take my sins upon Himself. I am eternally grateful. Grace me to shine as one rescued from death unto life. Be glorified in me. In Christ I pray. Amen.

1 1 Timothy 1:15 NLT
2 Romans 7:24
3 Romans 8:1
4 Isaiah 1:18
5 1 John 1:19