Who Are You Going to TRUST – Really?
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
This verse has impacted my life many times throughout the years. I’ve come to realize the last few years that trust and trusting others is extremely important to me personally because of my personality (thanks to Enneagram – Type 8). It has been good for me to understand that “Eights may lose both their ability to be close to others and their ability to trust anyone for fear of betrayal. It takes great courage and trust for Eights to show their vulnerable side.”
Knowing I can trust that God will never leave me or betray me (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5) has always drawn me to Proverbs 3:5-6 and more specifically to God Himself. The whole idea of trusting God is totally based on the fact that God is absolutely trustworthy
Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of our heart and soul by which we choose to hold onto the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelm us.
“In God We Trust” is displayed on our currency and is the official motto of the United States of America. If you think about who God is and who we are, then it is important to understand that God is really the only person we can fully trust. That doesn’t mean we don’t work at developing trust in all of our relationships, but it does make it clear how vital is it to trust in God!
One of the Old Testament words for trust (batach) has a meaning of “careless.” What that means is we are completely secure with someone that we can feel so safe and venerable that we can be careless, or free of concern. It means that we don’t have to hide who we are or be self-protective about anything.
That kind of trust is ultimately where we should strive to be in our marriage relationship. Because without trust, neither spouse will be vulnerable with one another, be willing to share struggles, or have healthy open communication. A healthy relationship cannot grow without a growing trust within that relationship, but ultimately that can only happen as you “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” As we understand our security is in Christ alone, only then we will be free to be vulnerable to others and trust them.
Trust and truth go hand in hand. That is why deception of any sort is the biggest trust killer. There is no such thing as a white lie. Being honest with your spouse includes telling the truth about where you were, whom you talked to, what you said and where you spent money. Many marriages have been saved because both spouses committed to being honest, even if it involved painful truths.
One very good reason to trust God is that we really have no sensible alternative. Should we trust in ourselves or in others who are sinful, unpredictable, unreliable, have limited wisdom, and who frequently make bad choices and decisions swayed by emotion? Or do we trust in the all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful, gracious, merciful, loving God who has good intentions for us? The choice should be obvious, but we fail to trust God because we don’t know Him. To know God is to trust Him.
“God is not like people, who lie; He is not a human who changes his mind.Whatever He promises, He does; He speaks, and it is done.” Numbers 23:19
“Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10,
To know God’s name is to know Him in an intimate, personal way. We don’t trust God simply because someone tells us to. We trust God because he is God. He is holy and awesome and righteous in every way.
4 Steps to begin Trusting God with ALL your heart:
1) Decide who you are going to trust – Philippians 4:6-7 (Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.)
2) Determine your course of action – 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NCV (We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments and every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.
3) Dive into God’s Word — Psalm 119:37, NLT (“Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.”)
4) Display who you trust through words and action — John 7:38-39 (Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit.)
