Trusting God: Part I
Every person is a truster. Several corollary issues emerge from this fact including the object of your trust (who) and the form trust takes. Trust has an object. It may be self or it may be something outside of self. Scripture teaches that man as a result of the fall and God’s judgment was born a self-truster (Prov. 3:5-8; 28:26; Ps. 49:12-13). Trusting in self is part of man’s rebellion and it has consequences. Psalm 49 teaches that self-trusters are like beast. Animals are not inclined to ask nicely, say thank you, or wait their turn. They are getters. They live for self, in the world for themselves. Esau was depicted as one more concerned with himself and filling his own belly (Gen. 25:29-34). Esau lived according to his physical appetite. He did not trust God.
Man remains a self-truster in varying degrees even as one saved by grace. However, salvation brings a radical change in man’s heart and with it a change in man’s orientation, bent, inclination, and capacity (John 3:3-8). Trusting God becomes a reality and a duty but it is more. Trusting God is now a privilege and blessing. Growing as a God-truster requires a change in your view of God and your view of self. The two are mutually linked and inversely related (John 3:30).
Trusting God simplifies life. It is a most wise and profound endeavor of the believer. Trusting God makes a statement about God’s power and control, His wisdom, and His love. The God-truster declares several tings: that God is totally sovereign and in control; that God is infinite in His wisdom and purposes; and that God is good and perfect in His love. When the believer trusts God he is stating that God knows best. The Bible teaches that God wills/decrees what is best for Him and His people (Pss. 115:3, 135:6). He does what is best with the best possible means. Those facts should motivate you to trust God. He is trustworthy. That fact is an undeniable, non-negotiable truth.
However, there is a rub, a problem. When you come face to face with God’s providence (life events), you wonder and even ask is God trustworthy. The three-fold declaration of God’s trustworthiness as given above is based on Scripture. In the “heat of life” what is your standard? Is your standard yourself – your experience, your logic unrelated to biblical truth or your feelings? Or is your standard the Bible which is God’s purposeful, powerful self-expression? Trusting God means trusting His word. In it God gives you all you need for life and godliness including trusting Him (2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:3-4).
Trusting God requires knowledge of who God is, what He has done, and what He promises. Further, it requires experiencing His goodness and gaining confidence that God has proven Himself trustworthy (Rom. 12:1-2; Ps. 34:8). The Bible teaches that God has proven Himself trustworthy. God has no obligation to prove Himself. He is God. Yet, Scripture makes clear that faithfulness to Himself by the keeping of His promises is one aspect of God’s essence. He is the promise-making and promise-keeping God. He says what He means, means what He says, and brings all things to pass for His glory and the good of His people (Ps. 15:3, 135:3-6). The cross proves that fact and the resurrection affirms it.
Knowledge and confidence of God’s trustworthiness will be gained and grow as you trust and obey. Matthew 7:24-27 spells out this fact. Jesus describe two kinds of people: both were hearers of His word and house-builders. However only one group weathered or rightly responded to the storms of God’s providence (life). This group heard and obeyed. They had built their house on rock. Scripture depicts God and Christ as the Rock (Deut. 32:4, 15, 18, 30-31; 1 Cor. 10:4). Yet in Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus teaches that doers (obedience) of the word are the wise house-builders. In the passage, Jesus teaches that the rock or firm foundation is obedience to the Triune God. Elsewhere, Scripture teaches that blessing comes in the doing – obedience: not simply duty but devotion. (John 13:18; James 1:25).
Application:
1. How does the truth that God is trustworthy influence you in pleasant and unpleasant circumstances?
2. How do you know God is trustworthy?
3. What is your response to a God who is in control and works all things for His glory and your good?
4. What motivates you to trust God?
5. What motivates you to trust self?