Trusting God

You put your trust in the cash or credit card in your wallet to be able to make purchases. God's promises at the very least should be equal to a dollar. More appropriately, God's promises should be equal to a credit card with an unlimited balance or a blank check.

You trust a dollar to buy you a soda. Probably more than a dollar these days, but you put the money in the machine with full faith and expectation that you will receive that for which you paid for. So also is faith with God. You trust your money, start trusting God.

Deuteronomy 8:18 “You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”

Psalm 13:5 [5] "But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.”

Trusting God, waiting for Him, this is how to be pleasing to God. What does it mean to trust God? What does trust mean?

trust:

n.

1.

a. Firm belief in the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing; confidence or reliance:

b. The condition and resulting obligation of having confidence placed in one.

c. One in which confidence is placed.

Because we trust in our right standing before God, we can confidently know and believe that God is for us and not against us. We have trust in God because of Christ.

Christ having obtained for us reconciliation to God by making us holy by His precious blood and His sacrifice on the cross. He Himself has consecrated us and made us holy forever. His blood does not wash off, once consecrated by Him, we belong to Him. The blood of Christ cannot be lost, stolen, or misplaced. It is on us, as those who believe in Him.

When He says He is going to act on our behalf, He does it. If God says, "Ask Me anything in My name and I will do it." He does it.

Psalm 37:3-5 [3] "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. [4] Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. [5] Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it."

So, trusting God, is our firm belief in the integrity, ability, and character of God. What does integrity mean?

integrity

n.

1. Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code: a leader of great integrity.

2. The state of being unimpaired; soundness: The building's integrity remained intact following the mild earthquake.

3. The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness:

Taking integrity into account, trusting God is our firm belief in His adherence to a strict moral code which is His law and His holiness. God takes His holiness extremely seriously.

He does not lie nor is there any unrighteousness in Him. We place our trust in God by believing that which He Himself says. God's holiness and integrity are one and the same. There is no flaw, blemish, or imperfection with Him. He is perfect. God is perfectly whole, complete, and one.

While waiting for God's help and trusting Him to provide it, we thank Him and praise Him.

Thanking and praising God also helps build up our faith as we trust in Him, confident in His help and His answering of our prayers, thanking Him for His faithfulness to us and to His word and His promises to us. We also are confident in God's inability to lie, so when He makes us a promise in His word, we can boldly stand on that promise knowing that He who promised will also deliver and make good on His word.

Trusting God is our firm belief in the integrity, ability, and character of God. This results in the condition of being in the custody and care of God. We trust in God and commit ourselves to His care and love for us. We are freed from anxiety and worry, knowing that God does not fail us or forsake us. We can rest in God's love.

To trust in God we place our confidence in Him and depend on Him. We expect with assurance and assume that what God says He will do, He does. We entrust ourselves to Him, knowing and believing we can rely and depend on Him.

Our confidence in God is our belief and conviction that our situation will be blessed. Our confidence in God comes from knowing that He Himself promises to bless us if we keep His commandments.

By keeping His commandments and performing His instructions we receive our confident boldness. We stand on His promises knowing that He will make good on His word as He does not lie and is faithful for His own sake.

There are many things God wants of us as His children. First and foremost, He wants us to give the glory to Jesus, and then to Him through Jesus. Secondly, God wants our trust. God wants us to trust Him unconditionally.

Why does He desire our trust? Trusting Him is a way of saying we believe in His righteousness, His faithfulness, His goodness, His lovingkindness, and His judgment.

It is almost as if Jesus is in a large pool at the bottom of a large waterfall. He says to us, "Jump, you'll be ok. Trust me. I won't let any harm come to you." He doesn't want us to shrink back because of fear or doubt.

Peter learned first-hand from Jesus about trust and doubt. Read the passage below about Peter and Jesus walking on water.

Matthew 14:28-31 [28] "And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." [29] And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. [30] But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" [31] And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Why did Peter doubt? Peter saw the wind stirring up the waves of the sea and became afraid. It is not surprising that he became afraid, considering he was walking on water at the time, and had just previously thought Jesus to be a ghost. Look at what happens when Peter did start to sink. "he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" [31] And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him,"

Notice how it says, "immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him." Jesus wasn't about to let any harm come to Peter. He knew Peter was afraid. He could have let Peter sink and then swim over to Him, or back to the boat, but He didn't. He immediately grabbed hold of Peter and pulled him to safety.

Not being there firsthand, I cannot say as fact the tone of voice Jesus used with Peter after rescuing Him. I truly believe He was compassionate and loving, perhaps even almost having a tone of joking around when He asked him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" “It wasn’t the waves or the huge gusts of wind or anything was it?” Imagine Jesus just giving Peter a hard time and playing with Him lovingly when asking, “Why did you doubt?”

I believe Jesus wasn't disappointed or upset at all when He asked Peter why he doubted Him, but was very tender and loving. He knew Peter and the other disciples were in a state of fear just from seeing Him walking on the water. He knew Peter was walking on the water, not because he knew he could or was in a state of faith, but because Jesus had commanded him to and he had no choice. This is just an example of our trusting God.

He wants us to trust Him when we are afraid or uncertain, so much that we become the epitome of confidence and certainty because of our trust in Him and His care for us. Listen to what the following verse has to say concerning trusting God. Making Him our trust produces confidence.

Psalm 71:5

"For You are my hope; O Lord God, my confidence from my youth."

Another way of reading this verse could be: For You, are my trust, Father, my confidence from my youth. We are confident because we trust in His care for us. We know that He loves us and jealously guards us in His love.

Isaiah 26:3-4 [3] "The steadfast in mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. [4] Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord we have an everlasting Rock."

Why does Isaiah and so many other passages refer to God as being a rock? There are a couple of reasons. For starters, His word is as solid as a rock. He is so completely trustworthy that nothing can compare with Him.

God's word is similar to a credit card, except He's accepted everywhere. When you go to make a purchase with a credit card, you just give them the card and they give you whatever it is you're buying, provided you have money in the account. The merchants don't ask you to fill out forms for a line of credit, nor do they question your credit, they simply accept it because of the trustworthiness of the bank which issued the credit card.

So is God and His word, except with God, there is no such thing as bad credit or a credit limit. He always delivers on His promises to love us, take care of us, protect us, and provide us with all we need.

One thing to be aware of, God does like to test us to see if we truly trust Him. He might allow circumstances to suggest things that are contrary to His word to see what we will do. I believe He asks Himself, "So, will they (us) trust Me, even if I delay?" "Will they patiently wait for Me? Or will they start to complain, find fault with Me and call Me a liar?" Whatever you do, don't call Him a liar, it really gets Him angry.

Psalm 37:3-9

[3] "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. [4] Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. [5] Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He will do it. [6] And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday. [7] Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not worry because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. [8] Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not worry, it leads only to evildoing. [9] For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, will inherit the land."

When we complain against God because of adversity, what we are really doing is telling Him that we do not trust Him and His judgment. Also, whenever we complain against God, we are on the same ground as calling Him a liar.

Listen below to what God says to Job in response to all of his complaining. Job got off much easier than Israel for one reason, and one reason only: He didn't blame God, He just complained while praising Him, but He didn't complain against God. He continually asserted God's righteousness and sovereignty, as well as, his own righteousness.

Job 40:1-14

[1] "Then the Lord said to Job, [2] "Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it." [3] Then Job answered the Lord and said, [4] "Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. [5] Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; even twice, and I will add no more." [6] Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm, and said, [7] "Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me. [8] "Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified? [9] Or do you have an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like His? [10] Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity; and clothe yourself with honor and majesty. [11] Pour out the overflowings of your anger; and look on everyone who is proud, and make him low. [12] Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him; and tread down the wicked where they stand. [13] Hide them in the dust together; bind them in the hidden place. [14] Then I will confess to you, that your own right hand can save you."

God then goes off on a long discourse concerning all of the creatures which He has made. He does this to illustrate to Job that He made all of these things in His knowledge and understanding, and by His wisdom. Once God is finished with his discourse on His understanding and wisdom being demonstrated through His creations, Job says to God:

Job 42:1-6

[1] "Then Job answered the Lord, and said, [2] "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. [3] 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' "Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." [4] 'Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.' [5] I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; [6] therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes."

What God really wanted from Job is his trust and He got it. God was actually very happy with how Job performed under all of his suffering. He then tells Job and his friends that Job was right and they were wrong.

Job 42:7-9

[7] "And it came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. [8] Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has." [9] So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamanthite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job."

Job, while enduring all sorts of evils and adversity didn't complain against God. He complained against everything else that exists, but He didn't say that God was in the wrong. Job totally trusted God would vindicate him, and as such, patiently waited for Him. He just complained about everyone and everything except for God while waiting. The entire time Job waited He spoke of how God does what He pleases. Job is the righteous example of what we are supposed to do, minus the complaining, when adversity comes upon us. God wants us to patiently wait for Him and trust Him.

Psalm 62:8

"Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."

Proverbs 3:5-6 [5] "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. [6] In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."

Psalm 37:5-6 [5] "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. [6] And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday."

Psalm 37:34 "Wait for the Lord, and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off you will see it."

Our trusting God says I love you better than anything else we can possibly do, other than obeying Him, of course. So, why would God will it that we endure hardship? This is an easy, yet difficult question to answer. God occasionally wills it that we endure something in order to test us, to see how much we trust in Him. He does this in order to refine us, and make us into stronger, more developed, mature individuals.

Proverbs 17:3

"The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests hearts."

Just as silver and gold are refined through heat, so also are we. God uses negative situations in our lives to refine us. He uses these things to instruct us. Happiness and pleasure are not really good teachers. Pain instructs. If you experience pain because of some decision you have made, then chances are you will not do it again in order to avoid that pain. This is just one way of how God uses pain in our lives to make us stronger and to purify us of weaknesses.

Waiting patiently for God without complaining is what we need to be doing. While waiting for God, trusting in Him, we should be thanking Him and declaring His praise.

Psalm 40:1-5 [1] "I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. [2] He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. [3] And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord. [4] How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. [5] Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with Thee; if I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count."

Trusting God and having faith are the exact same thing. Faith is nothing more than trust.

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Until next time, keep Christ first, and may God bless you.