Alphabet Soup: Trust in God

By Bryan Tay

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. — Proverbs 3:5,6 (NIV)

Trust God for His personal care and love for you as if you are the only person that matters to Him. Trust God’s timing. Trust His ability to act on your behalf. Trust Him to help you navigate your way through life. Let us not put our trust in kings and princes, the rich and gifted or those who are smooth with their words. We can only trust God to keep people trustworthy. With human beings, trust is developed over a period of time. But with God, we can trust Him instantly now and forever.

Only God is worthy of our absolute trust. If we say that we trust Him for our salvation that leads to eternal life, why are we not trusting Him for anything less? In the Bible, we have seen how those who fully trusted in God were richly blessed by Him as long as they remained faithful and obedient to His commands.

What does God say about this?

Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. — Psalm 32:10 (NIV) 

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. — Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)

Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. — Psalm 146:3 (NIV)

What does this mean for practical living?

We desire to be loved. We seek to have peace. We want safety. God has promised all these to the one who trusts Him. Trusting is not merely done with lip service. It is shown in the way we speak, think and act. When we trust in His good timing, He will make all things work together for good in our lives.

The world tries to define trust as an equation. It compares Credibility (spoken words), Reliability (actions) and Intimacy (comfort level in entrusting something to a person) against the Self-Interest of the trusted person (how much the entrusted person cares for himself).  We can see that God scores superbly on C, R and SI.

He is Omnipotent (all-powerful), Omniscient (all-knowing) and Omnipresent (ever-present). He does not have any self-interest but only our interests at heart. His Word is truth, and He has demonstrated His love consistently through His actions. That leaves only one component, Intimacy, that determines our level of trust in Him i.e. how secure and safe we feel in entrusting Him with our lives both now and for eternity. That is our part to demonstrate. Our trust in God limits what He can do for us.

Reflect and respond to God’s Word

• What are some things that you are afraid or apprehensive to trust God for? Why?

• Think of a person that you trust the most. What made you trust him/her?

• Now consider God who created that “most-trusted person” in your life. How should you reframe your perspective about trusting God?