“You just have to trust God.” We hear that a lot as Christians. The world we live in is turbulent, chaotic, and full of difficulties at every turn. If asked, most of us would probably say that we do trust God to help us or to provide for us. It’s kind of like if someone asked you, “Do you believe God loves you?” As a Christian, you would likely say, “yes, of course.” But, do we really know “how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is(Ephesians 3:18)?” I know I don’t. I’m not sure my human brain can even fully grasp that concept.

It’s a similar idea when talking about whether we are trusting God in life’s difficulties. We want to believe we are because, as a Christian, we know we should. And when asked, I think our immediate response would be “yes”. But, deep down, do we really trust God ? For some of us, our default programming is to trust in ourselves and in our own abilities. Life has taught us that we can’t count on others and if we need something done we have to do it ourselves. We treat God like he is another human – fallible, unpredictable, untrustworthy. Even when we try our best to put our trust in the Lord, if we aren’t being mindful of it, we start to plan and come up with our own solutions to life’s problems. We start trying to solve spiritual problems with rational thinking and planning. And then we wonder why it doesn’t work!

So, lets stop a minute and take an introspective look inside.

When you think about your kids, your job, your spouse, your health, your house, your goals, your aspirations, and on and on…are you trusting God or are you trusting in your own abilities, paycheck, education, or self will?

Are you trusting God when you apply for a new job or promotion? Are you trusting God when facing a conflict in your personal life? Are you trusting God when you face a financial crisis? Are you trusting God when a loved one is hurt or sick? When these difficulties come up, are you trusting in God for favor, peace, provision, and healing?

One way to tell is to measure your level of peace. God’s Word says in Isaiah 26:3 that, He will “keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all who’s thoughts are fixed on you.” When problems arise do you begin to worry, experience anxiety, and let your mind imagine the worst possible outcomes? When bad things happen do you fall apart? Do you forget all about God and what his Word promises you? Do you allow fear and doubt to settle in your heart and mind? Do you tell every one who will listen about your problems and talk defeat? If you said “yes” to any of these questions, then I’m here to tell you, my friend, you are not trusting in God.

So what is trust? Let’s take a look the definition of trust. Meriam-Webster online dictionary (2017) defines “trust” as “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, truth of someone or something” and “one in which confidence is placed.” God’s Word tells us to “receive God’s Kingdom like a child” (Mark 10:15). This tells us that we need to trust and believe God and his Word like children naturally trust their caregivers. Children believe what they are told, and they instinctively trust and rely on the adults caring for them. That is how we need to come to God and approach his kingdom. When we experience problems and troubles in our lives, we need to rely on God with assurance in his character, ability, strength, and truth. We need to place our confidence in him!

How do we know that God can be trusted? God has shown himself trustworthy in many ways. Take a minute and think about your own personal experiences with God in your life thus far. How has your life changed since you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? How has God shown up in your life? How has he provided for you, helped you, strengthened you? What has he freed you from, what has he delivered you out of? Take some time and remind yourself of every thing he has already done for you that shows you he is trustworthy and faithful. Sure there are still things you are facing, but take a moment and really see how far you have come. God doesn’t change and he can’t lie. If he was there for you in the past, he is there for you now, and will be there for you in the future. He is trustworthy and faithful. Share your testimony of God’s faithfulness with others. This will not only encourage them, but it will develop your ability to trust God in all things.

Another way to know that God can be trusted, is to watch what he does in the lives of believer’s in the church. In our day and age we have access to Christian books, magazines, television shows, radio programs, movies, podcasts, and websites that are full of real life testimonies of God’s faithfulness to provide, restore, heal, deliver, save, and set free! Remember that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). What God has done for someone else, he will do for you if you have faith to believe it.

God’s Word is full of stories of God showing up in people’s lives bringing restoration, deliverance, and healing. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). When we read God’s Word, we gain an understanding of God’s character and faithfulness through the scriptures, psalms, and stories of the Bible. God has proved himself trustworthy over and over again in his Word. The scriptures tell of God’s faithfulness and the promises he has given to us.

What does it look like to really trust God with our lives? When we trust God, we are relying on Him and his Word to show us what to do. We need to be “doers of the Word and not hearers only” (James 1:22). When trouble or difficulties arise, we need to pray. We shouldn’t immediately run to our parent, our spouse, or our best friend when we have a problem come up – we need to run to God. The Word tells us “in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6).” Let’s go to God when trouble comes, lay it before him and ask him for his help. Even if the problem or difficulty is our own doing, God’s not surprised! He will listen and he will help us.

When problems arise, we need to renew our mind to what God’s Word says about the situations we are facing. We need to find out about the promises that God has given to us that apply to that situation. Get familiar with God’s Word. After all, how can we trust God if we don’t know much about him or what is ours through Christ as redeemed, born again, children of God? Once we understand what God has promised to us in his Word, being able to trust God to take care of anything that would come up in our lives will be much easier. God has promised salvation (Romans 10:9), healing (1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:4-5), deliverance (2 Timothy 4:18), provision (Philippians 4:19), peace (John 14:27), victory (1 Corinthians 15:57), and more!

Another component of trusting God can be found in 1 Peter 5:7. We must cast/throw/give all of our worries or cares about the problems we are facing over to God. We can do this, as the scripture goes on to say, “because He cares for us.” We don’t have to carry the burden of our troubles, because God is carrying it for us. In other words, God’s got our back, he is helping us, he is with us. He knows what is going on in our lives, and he is working on our behalf to give us the victory. Just as in Isaiah 41:10, God says he will “hold us up in his victorious right hand.” Romans 8:28 tells us that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love him. The key to this scripture is – do you love God? The Bible says in 1 John 5:3, “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome”. If you love God, keep his commandments, and you can be sure he is working things out for your good. Praise God!

Let’s enter into God’s rest. Once we have brought our needs before God in prayer, develop an understanding of what he has promised in his Word about our situation, and have cast our cares onto him, we can enter into God’s rest. When you enter into the rest of God, there is no struggle, there is no worry, there is no fear. There is only peace and a confident assurance that God has your back, is working it out for you, and will give you the victory you need. It’s a state of praise and expectation of victory before you see it in reality. Seek to get to a place of resting in God. Seek to rest in the knowledge of his love and faithfulness, and in his desire and ability to take care of you.

God’s Word shows us many benefits to trusting in him. Let’s take a look at a few scriptures:

“And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”        Psalm 9:10 ESV

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.”        Psalm 37:5-6 ESV

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”      Proverbs 3:6 ESV

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”       Joshua 1:9 ESV

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”     Isaiah 26:3 ESV

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.”          Psalm 91:1-4 ESV

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”        Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV

As you can see from these scriptures, there are many benefits to trusting in the Lord. In his Word, in the lives of believer’s in the church, and even in your own past, God has shown himself trustworthy and faithful. No matter what you are facing today, put your trust in the Lord and in the promises of his Word. Cast your care upon the Lord and enter into his rest.

What does God’s Word say about your situation? Click here for scripture lists by topic

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