Choose to Trust in God

When choosing a bank, things like institution reliability, security, fees, and interest rates are considered. Sometimes voices influence the choice. Hearing a positive review from a reputable source may shift the idea of joining the family bank to venturing outside tradition. Despite factors considered, trust has to be present before entrusting a bank with money. In life, everyone has their own trust threshold. When that level of trust is reached something, or someone is allowed access. Do we trust God enough to allow Him access to every area of our life? God may be limited in how he moves in certain areas of our lives because we do not trust Him enough to let Him in. Trust is acquired from the evidence of something or someone being trustworthy. The Bible provides evidence of God’s goodness and impeccable track record for keeping His word. As Christians, believers, receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior is not only evidence of God’s glory but is our spiritual livelihood. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16 KJV). Similar to trusting a bank enough to start depositing money and permitting access to funds, we have to trust in God enough to surrender ourselves whilst allowing Him to be Lord.

Trusting God is required to move in the things of God. Fickle or lacking trust in God is like driving with tires that are misaligned, uneven pressured, or improperly mounted. It will cause the ride to be bumpy even if it is the right path. Fully trusting God will carry us through life with a smoothness brought on by the peace and rest He provides. Trust in God will lessen the burden of any undesirable circumstance and situation encountered in life. When trust is deficient, more measures are taken to increase trust. To one person locking all openings to their home may be enough. To another, a security system that rings loudly upon unwanted entry may increase their trust in the house being secure. Do we completely trust in God? Or are things set in place just in case God does not come through? When deciphering the importance of trusting God, the parable of the wedding banquet comes to mind (Matthew 22). In the parable, Jesus explains how the kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a marriage feast for his son, inviting many to attend, however many refused by either ignoring or acting violently towards the invitation (Matthew 22:1-7 NIV). The king then changes his guest list, sending his servants to invite anyone they can find. So, the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests (Matthew 22:10 NIV). The king came to see the guests and noticed a man not wearing wedding clothes (Matthew 22: 11 NIV). The man was speechless after being asked how he entered without wedding clothes; thus, he was thrown out because many are invited, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:12-14 NIV). Being speechless out of shame is different from having no words because you are confused. Speechlessness from shame is not what the man felt. It is safe to assume he was properly clothed, and he was speechless because he was not expecting his attire to be questioned. If the man was poor, the text would have alluded before his speechlessness of him expressing some insecurity about not wearing wedding clothes. His speechlessness came from shock because he did not expect to be seen as not wearing wedding clothes. He was probably finely dressed or thought the generous invitation meant he did not have to worry about dressing up. This passage highlights that heaven has a dress code. Do away with the things you put on in place of your wedding garments. Are the ways of this world being worn instead of the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Fear is often worn instead of freedom, which indicates joy and peace. Bitterness and resentment are worn in place of love and forgiveness. Reliance on busyness and the opinions of others are worn instead of confidence in God alone. Confidence in God can indicate faithfulness and self-control. Wear your trust in God for His glory. Trusting God encourages showing love, kindness, and gentleness regardless of treatment. Trusting God combats temptations and trials by developing and sustaining joy, peace, faithfulness, and self-control within. Trusting God is a choice; you can choose to wear it or not. Some choose to wear what is trending in the world. For example, someone may choose to prioritize work, accolades, money, and social advancement because they want to wear an image of success. Trusting God means He is the priority and prize:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Matthew 16:24-26 NIV)

We can identify our level of trust in God by distinguishing trust from faith. 

• Faith is belief.
• Trust is the reliance on what you believe.

Faith in God is believing in God. It is like accepting righteous credit based on the credentials of who God says He is. Trusting God is like residing on land or in a house you purchased with God’s righteous credit. You know the house and, or land is valuable even though the value is not always tangible or seen. For example, owning a house or plot of land worth 300,000 does not mean you have 300,000 in a checking account. However, the property or land is evidence of the wealth you have and can rely on. 

Faith is more of a noun, while trust is more of an action. Our faith in God helps us to connect with God and hear from Him. Our trust in God makes us move in what He says. That is why it is common to hear of a person believing they have heard from God, but they were reluctant to move forward because what they heard seemed inconceivable. Trust was deficient. What they heard defies their logic and understanding. Trusting God makes you get out of the boat and walk on water towards a God you heard (faith) call you. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Roman 10:17 KJV). 

Can you have faith in someone you don’t trust?

In general, when speaking, faith and trust are used interchangeably. For example, the meaning of the sentence, “I have faith my partner will not cheat on me” is clear. And if “have faith” was substituted with “trust”  the sentence meaning and clarity would not change. 

For conversation purposes this is fine, unfortunately emotions make the concept of faith and trust complicated. Believing in something does not mean you completely trust everything associated with that thing. This happens when there is no evidence to develop trust, or the evidence obtained is not enough. This challenges the notion of trust being objective because evidence can derive from an emotional place—outside of court. How we feel about a thing can distort or falter our trust in a thing. For Christians, evidence of God’s greatness is in the bible and present all around us. Measuring how Christians value this evidence should be straightforward, but it is not. Believers often select which areas in life they trust God in. For example, a person can trust God for healing and protection but not their home life. They can fall into not trusting God in this area of life because a strong desire for marriage, children, or financial security has weakened their trust. Impatience and expectation can push a person to pursue their desires without acknowledging God. Human logic and understanding are chosen instead of God. Hence, the fear of missing out is worn instead of trust in God. Trusting God over human understanding and logic suggests patience, self-control, and faithfulness are present. Being faithful to God requires trust; for faith is belief and being faithful is being consistent and unwavering in those beliefs. Believing in God implies believing in His word. So, we adhere to the lessons taught in the bible, along with direct messages like, “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” (Proverb 3:5-6NIV). Even when we experience the foretold trouble in this world (John 16:33 NIV), we humbly utter, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him” (Job 13:15 KJV). God will never force us to choose what is best for us. Let God’s goodness and great love remind us that trusting Him is the best choice we can ever make.