Trust, faith and hope often go hand in hand. To have faith in God is to trust God. We are called by God to have faith in Him, and to trust Him at all times. God has promised us that He will bless us if we trust in Him. “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is’(Jer 17:7) Yet, even if we know this, why is it then so difficult for us to trust and have faith in God? By our own unbelief we shatter all kinds of hope and miss many marvelous blessings that would have become ours if we’d only trusted in Him. In times of trouble we find that our faith and our trust in God are not as firmly rooted as we thought they were. Instead we learn, often to our disappointment, that they are rather rooted on shallow ground. It is however, in these times that we ought to trust God the most. We ought to trust in His promises, to look them up in the Bible and claim them for ourselves. But why is the trust in God so difficult for us? Why do we trust people more than we trust God? Is it because we live in daily contact with people, seeing them, hearing them and touching them? Is our faith so transparent that we place more trust in ourselves and others around us, than in someone who is so marvelous, so faithful as is God? Did you know that by doing so we bring a curse upon ourselves?
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD”(Jer 17:5)
In order to understand trust a bit more we have to look at what trust means. In social terms trust means to believe that a person is trustworthy, nice, loving, acceptable and honest. To trust in someone is to believe that person and all he or she does or says. One form of trust for example, is the Stockholm syndrome. This arises when a hostage is taken by a kidnapper and the hostage starts to rely completely on the kidnapper. This in spite of the situation or danger the hostage might find themselves. It is the utter dependency of a person. The Bible tells us that a person can misuse or fail our trust. Yet again we are warned not to trust in men but in God. “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man”(Ps. 118:8).
To learn to trust and have faith in God requires us to study His Word. Only so will we get to know Him and know how trustworthy He really is. There so many marvelous promises that God gives us whenever we choose to trust Him. Please note: You have no other choice than to trust God, only He is faithful. Men will disappoint you in one form or another, but God will never disappoint you. He always has your best interest at heart. Now let’s see what blessings come from trusting God, shall we?
First of all, whenever we find ourselves in need to His trust due to adversity or calamity, we will find that He will renew our strength:
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”(Isa. 40:31)
Personally I find this one of the most beautiful promises of God in the Bible. It gives me much strength in times of need. To wait upon God means to hope for, to look to God for. This promise tells us that if we hope in God, if we look upon Him as the sole resource out of our troubles, He will give us the strength to get out of them, to face them with a strong countenance. This means you will come out the winner and not the looser. You will have the strength to face up whatever comes your way because God is right there helping you. Oh how nice this promise really is! Another confirmation of this is found in Nahum 1:7: “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.”
God promises us that He will never misuse our trust in Him. Read Psalm 25. This psalm tells you all about it. Let me give you a verse from this psalm: “Oh my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me”(Ps 25:2). God honor our trust in Him. He promises that we will come out victoriously if we do so. To trust in God is to be obedient to His wishes. He wants to bless us. He longs with all of his heart and might to bless us: “And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him”(Isa 30:18). Here again we find the confirmation that if we place our trust in God, He will in fact bless us. Think of it this way. What kind of a rightful father would not want to bless his children? Every parent loves to bless his or her children. The same goes for God, who is our Father in Heaven.
He waits to bless us, but it is up to us if He can do so or not. We are often the disobedient ones. We grief God by our behavior, by our lack of trust. It is by faith that we learn to trust God. “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises”(Heb. 6:12). It is trough faith that we obtain His promises. To have faith in God means to trust Him. Furthermore, we please God if we have faith in Him: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”(Heb.11:6). What we learn from this verse is that God will only reward us with His blessings if we trust Him completely, if we have absolute faith in Him and in his promises for us. If we have this kind of faith and trust in Him, He will deliver us out of all our troubles (Ps 91:14). That is His promise!
However, there is one condition that needs to be met and that condition is trust. If you trust God then you will know that He will perform what He has promised in His Word. You will have the necessary faith to know that God will sooner or later do what He has promised. But if you doubt God, nothing will happen. To doubt God is to not have confidence in Him. God will not operate in your life if you doubt Him. Take a look at the great apostles of faith such as Paul, Steven, James, Abraham, Moses, and the like. These are the one’s that are mentioned in the Bible. What about those such as George Muller, Howard Reece, Andrew Murray for example? These were great men of faith, they trusted God for absolutely everything. None of them was ever deceived by God. In fact God performed marvelously in their lives. He never let them down, ever. So dear friends, I hope I have encouraged you a bit to have more trust and faith in God. Faith gives hope and hope is wonderful. It keeps us waiting for the marvelous promises that God has awaiting for each one of us who trust Him!