Relying on the Trustworthy God

As a new believer, I remember being brought into the peace of the Spirit for the first time. I knew what it meant to say, “It is well with my soul” and what scripture meant when it said, “The Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life” (Psalm 42:8, NKJV).

When I was still working as a cop and I first got saved, I thought, “Finally! A place with honest people. Finally in a place where people don’t tell lies.” 

I was so disappointed when I first ran into a crook in church. Sadly, it wasn’t somebody in the pew either. I went home and laid on the floor in the living room, and I was so heartbroken. “God, I expect to find this on the street. That’s what I do for a living. These are the people I deal with 99 percent of my time, and I thought I could come to church, and it would be a refuge from that, only to find that the same spirit has crept in.” I was so discouraged. 

It’s like that for those who are young in the Lord. You feel God leading you into places of peace and hope like you’ve longed for but never felt before your life in Christ. You know it’s a good path, but like David in the psalms, you discover that there are traitors around. Someone comes into your life, and you wonder, “God, can I trust this person?” Your thinking can get jaded, and you feel surrounded by enemies, and you don’t know who to trust anymore. 

I was wrestling with this doubt that day on my living room floor. Suddenly, I felt the hand of God come over me, and he spoke to my heart, “Carter, I’m not a hypocrite. I’m not a crook. I went all the way for you, and the life you’re living, you’re living for me. So get up off the floor and serve me. You’re not going to stand before people; you’re going to stand before me one day. Just serve me. I’m the only one who can say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”

We live for Christ, not other people. We can always trust Christ. We act and speak and breath for God. 

^{Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001. In May of 2020, he transitioned into a continuing role as General Overseer of Times Square Church, Inc.}