Grace Baptist Church

  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Meeting Times
    • Location
    • History
    • Leadership
  • Sermons
    • Sermons by Series
    • Sermons by Date
  • Blog
  • Connect
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Meeting Times
    • Location
    • History
    • Leadership
  • Sermons
    • Sermons by Series
    • Sermons by Date
  • Blog
  • Connect

BLOG

If You Stand on Quicksand, Well...

3/5/2015

0 Comments

 
You know the movie, The Princess Bride, right? Of course you do. As Wesley and Buttercup make their way through the fire swamp, they encounter one of the dangers known as lightning sand, which is like quicksand only you sink faster. As you can see in the clip here, Buttercup assumes she's taking a step onto solid, trustworthy ground, but is quickly swallowed by the lightning sand. (Not to spoil it for you, but her sweet Wesley rescues her.)
I recently read something from Ed Welch that referenced quicksand:
"You will trust in something or someone; that's part of being human. You will trust in...your spouse, your wealth, your loved ones, your cunning, or your health--or you will trust in the Lord. Trust in things that are untrustworthy, and you are trusting in quicksand. You are trusting in things that cannot sustain the weight of your trust. And fear, of course, will be the result. Trust in the Lord, and you are secure." - Ed Welch
That, my friends, is profound. I have warned others and myself not to put our trust in other people, money, comfortable sturdy houses, etc. Trusting in good gifts from God rather than God is dangerous and idolatrous. But notice what Welch points out there. It's not just dangerous. It's not just foolish. It's not just idolatry. It is the very source of our fear and anxiety. If you trust in something "that cannot sustain the weight of your trust" you will fear! When we do that, we're trusting in things that cannot deliver us. So of course we're going to be afraid. Buttercup put her faith in what appeared to her to be solid ground (just like our false sources of trust appear trustworthy). But it couldn't support her. And neither can the things we trust in.

So I guess that's not actually all that profound. People have been saying it for years ("On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand"). But something about the way Welch put it struck me. It's not just bad to trust in something/one other than God. That misplaced trust actually leads to fear. When afraid, grasping for something other than the Lord will make us more afraid because that thing/person cannot support the weight of our trust. Only God can. May we trust in him alone!

(I've recommended his work before, but again, Ed Welch has some of the best stuff I've ever read on fear and anxiety. His book Running Scared is excellent in this regard. The quote above comes from a workbook that condenses Running Scared into a 7 week study called When I Am Afraid. I'm not all the way through the workbook, but I highly commend both works to you.)
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    When I quote Scripture In this blog, unless otherwise indicated, the quotations are usually from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission.

    ​All rights reserved.

    Archives

    August 2021
    March 2021
    October 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    March 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    January 2016
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

About

​Who We Are
Meeting Times
Location
History
​Staff
Sermons

By Series
​By Date
Connect

Email our Pastor

Copyright ©2021 Grace Baptist Church. All Rights Reserved.