(October 21, 2025) Robert and Maureen McQuillan share a vital challenge…

So many scriptural verses mean so much! But, I wonder, what’s one with certain four words to really understand? Hmm?

Once when guest preaching I (Robert) had arranged with a lady church member, Amber, to come up and enthusiastically share with everyone especially himself what the Lord had put on her heart for the coming year. But then he nodded but responded with a casual, mocking ‘Huh, huh, really’ and whispered something in her ear. And here he tells that—

To the congregation’s surprise Amber suddenly slapped me! Now don’t be concerned— it wasn’t attack Dr Robert Sunday! Giving my friend a godly hug, we both smiled as I quickly explained what I’d ‘Huh, huh really’ about.

What had happened was this— I’d whispered what I personally consider four words in scripture that need to understood— ones that have been written about and preached about by many great preachers recently—‘Did God really say…’

1. Trusting God’s Word
You’ll recall that Genesis 3:1 incident that resulted in some much trouble in the world created by our loving, caring God. Jesus pointed out in John 8:44 that the devil ‘… has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.’ Here the cunning liar slides in the devil (ὁ διάβολος … the slanderer or accuser) to deceive Eve with a lie.

This deluding lie re that garden fruit was not only subtly challenging just Eve (and Adam) but God’s holy word!

• Message Bible reads: ‘Do I understand that God told you…?’
• ISV reads ‘Did God actually say…?’ (emphasis mine).
• ILTV ‘Is it true that God has said…’

As Keil and Delitzsch’s Old Testament Commentary points out‘… the tempter advances to a direct denial of the truth of the divine threat, and to a malicious suspicion of the divine love (Genesis 3:4-5). “Ye will by no means die” (לֹא is placed before the infinitive absolute … “ye will positively not die”.’

That serpent the devil is most crafty, cunning, subtle. Serpent is nachash, pronounced hissingly naw-khawash, after a snake’s hiss. Now imagine that evil, subtle devil using the KJV version hissingly— ‘Yea, hath God said?’ ‘Yea’ is Hebrew kee indicating a mere ever so casual comment. So now image Satan ever so casually hissing regarding humanity’ future: ‘Did God really tell you that you would die?’

And then his big verse 4 lie, ‘You won’t die!’ hissed in mock derision of God’s word ‘die’— muth — doesn’t always refer to immediate death but a definite ‘You are now doomed to die.’ Deceit, doubt, death.

Our forefathers could have lived forever in God’s created Paradise (Genesis 3:22). Now they doomed to die at some point because sin abounded in a fallen world and human lifespan was shortened and shortened.

Not being morbid but think about your remaining years— these days live beyond 80 years and you’re blessed! There’s a story about an old man who was observed by a neighbour playing with a small number of large marbles on Saturdays in his garage and regularly reducing the number. One morning he was asked why the weekly reduction and was casually told, ‘Just counting the years I’ve left here on earth.’

Disobeying God’s command as Eve did (and Adam too, guys!) is sinning which leads to death as Romans 6:23NLT declares: ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.’

Poor wages indeed! Mge reads, ‘Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.’

Incidentally it’s reported that thousands of those claiming to be Christians who don’t believe there’s a devil! Don’t they believe the Bibles speaks truth? No wonder there’s deceived lives even in churches!

2. Trusting God’s Deliverances
Two major troubling issues with many Christians today… doubt and lack of trust. Doubting God’s word and not totally trusting Him!

Remember Daniel 3 and those three young men who refused the king’s order to bow before a false God and were threatened with being cast into a stoked-up blazing furnace. Now that’s terrifying! (And you thought you had problems?) Yet their defiant declaration to the king, to the nation, was that they believed their God would rescue them. An incredible declaration!

More amazing is that their trust in their God was so strong that they were bold enough to further declare: ‘Even if He doesn’t, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference’ (v17Mge)! And their caring God honoured their trust and rescued them! The bewildered, astounded king who witnessed that miracle declared, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego!’

‘Trust’— the Hebrew meaning signifies a sense of security, confidence, and reliance, implying a feeling of safety andbeing sure.

Those youngers  risked their lives in trusting God! What a testimony to those who didn’t know God! The reality is that God is a rescuer— if we’ll trust him! That’s our part… this releases God into action!

3. Trusting God’s Love
As you’re aware world news these days is repeatedly bad news! That old saying: Things are black at the coalface. Christians and Bible-believing churches are meant to be the centre of hope for the world. Why? Because Christians are supposed to intimately know and trust the Saviour of this troubled world. So think of the church as the coalface.

But bad news… unfortunately things are also black at the church coalface because many Christians haven’t got our act together!

Sadly, churches and Christians can have in-house problems—

• Sicknesses.
• So little personal Bible reading.
• Not really understanding God and His ways.
• Gossip and betrayal.
• Financial struggles.
• Messy marital relationships.
• Lack of personal spiritual growth.
• Doubt and fear.
• Demonic activity and many very real-life challenges!

Sadly many Christians haven’t been like Daniel’s friends— and let go and let God! It’s a total dependence on God thing!

One of my own real-life examples: Out-of-the-blue I needed for a heart op. Not having the necessary cash  I trusted God and simply kept praising Him in tongues. I was led to a top professor for examination, then a top surgeon… I had no doubts in trusting God for Jeremiah 29:11, reminded of a favourite scripture of Maureen’s—  trust in Romans 15:13. All happened so quickly… and priceless!

4.   Trusting God’s Reality
Life’s reality is that bad things happen to good as well as bad people. ‘God … gives His best— the sun to warm and the rain to nourish— to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty’ (Matthew 5:45).

Praise God that the balance is found in Hebrews 13:5, ‘Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you”.’ This means that we’ve got to hang in there, declaring our God is a good God… and really know it. Because in the tragedies of life this is where the rubber hits the road!

One important scripture to grasp these days is one of Maureen’s— Proverbs 3:5, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.’ Mge is so clear: ‘Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.’

Even though God’s Son Jesus said that ‘No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like’ (John 1:18CEV) we can trust His reality. 1John 4:12Mge confirms this  ‘No one has seen God, ever … God dwells deeply within us, and His love becomes complete in us— perfect love!’ 

This means living in faith and trust by the maxim: ‘Let go and let God!’ Can we, do we? Have we learned to really trust our God in everything?

5. Trusting God’s Problem-solvings
‘Gimme Doctrine’ is a bad doctrine held by some Christians! Such habit operates like this: ‘Only you can help me, Lord, I trust you. Here’s my problem, I give it to you.’ But— then we foolishly grab it back as if we can help God when we can’t even help ourselves!

If I ask a lawyer to sort out a legal problem for me, I won’t be taking it back every two minutes! I hand everything over to him (or her) expecting great results— in that lawyers timing, and  way! And if I’m directed to do something to help my case, I’m going to work with that lawyer, listening and taking advice!

Now I’m very much aware that lawyers are human, busy and could let me down… but I’ll chose to trust one.

Maureen puts it this way: ‘If I asked a friend to bake me a cake, I’d completely trust her to do so and to bake it well. I wouldn’t be hanging over her shoulder all the time or saying, “Here, give me that soon!” If I didn’t trust her, I wouldn’t have asked in the first place. So… as she does what needs doing, I’ll be off doing other things, all the time expecting a great result from my friend.’ Get it?

God is greater than any human: He will never fail us, we can fully trust Him! That’s our part … to trust Him fully. And what is trust? In a nutshell it’s having confidence in someone or some system, appliance, vehicle or machine.

Remember David… he knew his God and trusted Him. Yet he had many problems! Jealous brothers, spiteful Saul, enemies outside and inside the camp, a plotting son, his own lustfulness, in time old age. Still God called him ‘a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will do what I tell him’ (Acts 13:22Mge).

Dare we echo David’s heart-felt declaration of Psalm 31:14, ‘But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God”.’

6. Trusting God’s Rescuings
An appropriate scripture is Psalm 78:7, ‘Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget His deeds but would keep His commands.’ So many times in the Old Testament one hears the cry of God to His wayward people… literally [‘My‘ version]: ‘Why don’t you listen to me, do what I ask and turn back? I have so much planned for you… trust me!’

We need to know and believe scriptures like Isaiah 26:3, ‘You will keep in perfect peace these whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.’

Even the best human can let us down. We need to hang onto scriptures such as Psalms…

• 118:8, ‘It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.’
• 91:2, ‘I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust”.’
• 56:3-4, ‘When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’
• 31:14, ‘But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God”.’

Letting go and let God is all about trusting God! Human beings are very human and can let us down. But almighty God who has promised never to let us down, therefore in all of life’s challenges, We can declare ‘So what if things work out differently what we were hoping/asking for.’

Over the years Maureen and I have put to trust God; we’ve had to take some huge steps of faith and trust… and patiently wait to see how things would work out. It hasn’t always been easy… sometimes things have turned out differently than expected. Sometimes we’ve had to really hang in there.

The challenge for many Christians today is this: Do we really know our God, do we really believe He is our rescuer and above all, do we really trust Him? The sad reality is many don’t know Him!

[Continued in Part 2]

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Dr Robert and Pastor Maureen McQuillan’s links are OnlinerConnect@gmail.com and Facebook.  October links: Responsible Repetition/ Guardianship-Seven Secrets of Your Blessed Future/  We Need the Power of the Holy Spirit/  Loved With Everlasting Love/
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