Brennan Manning (Ruthless Trust) compares how trust, over time, ripens into confidence with The Parable of the Growing Seed (Mark 4:26-29):
1. Just as the seed the farmer casts on the ground automatically brings forth fruit, the author notes that “the growth of trust into confidence is likewise ‘of itself.’ ”
2. The farmer is confident that the seed has continued to grow throughout the night. Similarly, Christians live in confidence that God continuously is working in us. Brennan Manning adds that “the decisive outcome rests with God and . . . the decisive factor is unearned grace.”
The author concludes by asking if the Christ of history and our personal faith journey provides the grounds of assurance for our trust to grow into confidence. While signs and wonders may be spectacular, Brennan Manning astutely asserts:
“equally amazing to me is the steadfast grace that allows us to remain relentlessly faithful through the disasters and disappointments, the struggles and heartaches of the human adventure.”
As author Jeff Manion (The Land Between) says in his description of Joseph’s hardships in Egypt, the knowledge and depth of character Joseph gained through his adversity had to be forged. With the Holy Spirit’s power, trial and struggle will transform us!