Trust is an interesting word. On our money the quote reads “In God We Trust.” I wonder if we really do trust God or maybe our trust is misplaced. Do we place our trust in people, possessions, understanding or experience? There is only one who is faithful and true, worthy of our trust. All other sources will fail us. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Replied; Mark 12:30; NLT; “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”

Some people say they trust God but are only looking for results, a good luck charm. They want God to provide what they want. God provides what is beneficial to us, not what we think we want. I know people who follow Christ. They understand that some days deliver victory and other days things don’t go the way we want. That doesn’t shake their trust. The same God is in charge of both results.

When we love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength that means we trust the result to him. Let’s unpack that a little; Heart: your desires, emotions, and innermost being; Soul: your life, will, and spirit; Mind: your intellect, thoughts, and reasoning; and Strength: your energy, time, and resources. Loving, devoting, engaging and acting in ways that indicate we trust God with everything.

Then the results belong to God, not us. We learn to look at things through a different lens. We look at things through the will of our Lord. We look with eyes focused on eternal things, not the temporary things of this earth.

We all face the challenge of dealing with the results of efforts. Not everything goes the way we think it should go. One reason is we don’t know what the future holds. Oh, we try to predict it and prepare for it, but until the race is run the results cannot be determined. Disappointment is part of the deal, but there is always another race to run. How we learn and handle these times reveals who we ultimately trust with our lives.

Psalm 20:7-9; Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.

Lord, give victory to the king! Answer us when we call!

The words of David remind us that putting our trust in things, possessions and created things will bring us to our knees in failure. Those that trust in the Lord God will rise up and stand firm. Who or what have we put our trust and faith in? 

Remember that putting your trust in God should not depend on what’s going on around us. What is happening around us should not determine where we place our trust. We should place our trust in God, without doubt, without wavering. Then when the dust settles, we will be able to stand.

A man was out jogging one day. As he passed a cliff, he got too close and fell. Grabbing hold of a branch he was stranded. No way up and certainly no way down. He began to scream, “Help, help, is there anyone up there who can hear me?” He yelled for hours and was about to give up when he heard a voice. “Can you hear me?” 

“Yes, Yes, I can hear you.”

“I’m down here.” 

“I can see you, are you alright?” 

“Yes, but …who are you and where are you?”

“I am the Lord, and I am everywhere.”  

“The Lord? You mean God?” 

“That’s me.”  

“God, help me, I promise that if you get me down from here, I’ll stop sinning. I’ll be a really good person and serve you for the rest of my life.”   

“Easy on the promises.  First let’s get you down, then we can discuss those.”  

“I’ll do anything, Lord, just tell me what to do, okay?” 

“Okay, just let go of the branch.”  

“What?”  

“I said, let go of the branch, just trust me, let go.” Then there is a pause. 

“Help, help, is there anybody else up there?”

Putting our trust in God is harder when we think we know what the outcome should be. The jogger knew about gravity and the fact that if he let go, he would fall. He didn’t trust God enough to catch him. We think we know, when in fact we don’t. Let go, give the Lord control and follow His direction. 

Proverbs 3:5-6: NLT; Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

    do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do,

    and he will show you which path to take.

Here are three ways that will help us trust God more. 1 – We need to be confident in God’s care. 2 – We need to be committed to God’s purpose. 3- We need to be controlled by God’s will. If we do these things, we are putting our complete trust in God, and things will be more beneficial for us than if we decided to do things ourselves. God has plans for each one of us and when we place our trust in Him, He begins to reveal that to us. 

It doesn’t mean things are always going to go our way. It doesn’t mean we are going to get everything we want. It does mean that we trust God’s understanding over our own about what is best for our lives. Try it and see what happens. 

Psalm 20:7; NIV; Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

   but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Blessings,

Pastor Don