Test everything. Hold on to the good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8.

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. Philippians 2:14-15 NKJV.

We need a clarion call of why we need to trust Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. This helps from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers: “Gracious Uncertainty “It has not yet been revealed what we shall be.” 1 John 3:2. Our natural inclination is to be so precise – trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next – that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Consequently, we do not put down roots. Our common sense says, “Well, what if I were in that circumstance?” We cannot presume to see ourselves in any circumstance in which we have never been. Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life – gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. As soon as we abandon ourselves to God, and do the task He has placed closest to us, He begins to fill our lives with surprises. When we become simply a promoter or a defender of a particular belief, something within us dies. That is not believing God – it is only believing our belief about Him. Jesus said, “unless you…become as little children” (Matthew 18:3). The spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, just uncertain of what He is going to do next. If our certainty is only in our beliefs, we develop a sense of self-righteousness, become overly critical, and are limited by the view that our beliefs are complete and settled. But when we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy. Jesus said, “Believe also in Me” (John 14:1), not, “Believe certain things about Me.” Leave everything to Him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how He will come in – but you can be certain that He will come. Remain faithful to Him.”

Ancient Israel didn’t trust in God. Do we? And in our chapter, Amos 5, God through Amos reasons with them. A lament. Hear this word, Israel, this lament I take up concerning you: “Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again, deserted in her own land, with no one to lift her up.” v. 1-2. Why? There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground…There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court and detest the one who tells the truth. You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine. For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil…”There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,” says the Lord. Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light – pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to Me…You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god – which you made for yourselves. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty. v. 7, 10-13, 17-21, 26-27. Does this not sound familiar? Are we as certain as was ancient Israel – and do what does not please Creator God? And what does God tell us? This is what the Lord says to Israel: “Seek Me and live…Seek the Lord and live…He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land – the Lord is His name. With a blinding flash He destroys the stronghold and brings the fortified city to ruin…Seek good and not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say He is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph…But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” v. 4, 6, 8-9, 14-15, 24. Just as you say He is…our own cautionary tale, just as it was for ancient Israel.

We can look at our world today and see the evil being done and feel overwhelmed. But something significant happens when we begin to put our trust in Creator God. We begin to understand that we can trust Him not just for our problems today in every nation, but for all eternity. It begins where it always must: Realizing our need for Creator God and the help and hope only He can bring.