It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans (Psalm 118:8).
We have all heard it from someone in our lives. “Trust in God!” “You just need to trust God.” “We just need to trust everything to God.” Right. But…how do we do that? After all, God is not going to help me change my flat tire.
God is not going to pay the bills. God didn’t even keep my father alive when my family and I prayed and prayed about it. In fact, God took him way too soon. So how do I trust God?
It has been my contention for some time now that trusting God is one of the hardest — maybe the hardest — thing a Christian is called to do.
Let’s face it, most of us might think in our heads we’re going to trust God; we might tell others that we’re going to trust God; we might even pray and tell God we’re going to trust him with something.
Then what do we do? We take it right back. We worry about it. We try to take steps to “fix” whatever it is. The trust never seems to make its way from our heads to our hearts.
Meaning, we are not truly trusting God. But something tells me you knew that already.
The Bible certainly makes clear who we are to trust — who we can truly count on.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans (Psalm 118:8).
Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with the woman who lies in your embrace guard the words of your lips (Micah 7:5-7).
Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem? (Isaiah 2:22).
We are even told not to trust ourselves.
Those who trust in themselves are fools.... (Proverbs 28:26).
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).
It makes so much sense — and yet is so difficult. It seems so simple — but definitely not easy.
So why? Why is it so difficult to truly trust God? And if it is so difficult, why are we asked to put our trust in an unseen being; this impersonal God we can’t even hear from?
We have prayed to God for so many different things, yet so few of those prayers are answered — or at least not the way we wanted.
Who Do You Trust?
If you are like me, there are a great many people you have come to trust in your life. Over the years, they have proven themselves trustworthy.
People you can count on in a time of need. A great many others you have learned to never trust. They have let you down time and again — and again and again.
The list of those who are trustworthy every time is quite likely far shorter than those who have proven unreliable and undependable.
And it is not a restricted list: parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, bosses, teammates. Those people all make those who do prove trustworthy that much more of a treasure.
A trusted friend is more precious than pure gold. Rarer too, perhaps. When we find that person, we tend to cling tightly.
Trusting in people is not a bad thing — in fact, such a friend is to be appreciated and is truly valuable in a time of need.
When that trusted friend also happens to be your spouse, it is a timeless treasure to be cherished. Such healthy, trusting relationships can and will bear much fruit in our lives.
Friends who trust can talk to each other; lean on each other; bear one another’s burdens — and be counted on to keep each other’s secrets.
But…if we are honest, we also know that friends — human beings — can, and will, let us down. Whether intentionally or unintentionally.
It isn’t their fault; we are all broken beings and all subject to mistakes. We know, too, the damage it can cause — both to the relationship, as well as our lives and the lives of others.
The Father Wound
Many atheists — including the famous Sigmund Freud — have stated the theory that religion is nothing more than the wishful thinking of people attempting to replace a lost father figure.
An atheist-turned Christian psychologist named Paul Vitz, flipped this theory upside down in his book, Faith of the Fatherless; A Psychology of Atheism, wherein he argued that many very well-known atheists reject God because of the damage done by their own fathers, or missing fathers.
The “Father Wound,” as it is often called, can be incredibly damaging to our ability to love and trust God.
And while the Father Wound seems to be the most obvious and oft-discussed, our experiences with both our parents — with all our “trusted” relationships — have an impact on our relationship with a heavenly father.
As the divorce rate has sky-rocketed, it seems that trust in God has diminished.
Trust is earned — by the one in whom we place that trust. But trust, as well as distrust, is also learned — by us, the one who owns and places that precious trust. In only one relationship, is this not so.
As children, we trust our parents without question. It is only as we grow older — and think we know better or find our trust to be misplaced — that our trust is weakened. And this is why Jesus called us to trust in God as little children (Matthew 18:2-4).
God’s promises could not be more clear. He is above all things; he knows all things; he can do all things. And he will never leave us nor forsake us.
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6).
Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close (Psalm 27:10).
Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).
I could go on with a multitude of verses. But the truth is that we already know what Scripture says about trusting God.
We already know his promises. The issue is — learning to believe it. Learning to accept it. And learning to trust those words. To trust God.
Trusting God
As a result of my own humanness, my own Father Wound, perhaps — both of my own father as well as the hurt I caused — it has taken me a long time to know and feel God’s love.
And to know that I could trust him. It has taken coming to know him — personally — through prayer and reading his Word.
And to be honest — being quite deliberate and diligent in those efforts. And it began ever so slowly and simply — 15 minutes of prayer and a reading a single chapter of his Word each day.
Prayer does not mean reciting or reading words — it means feeling and believing the words we use, having an honest conversation with him from your heart. It is not simply sitting down when you need something — it means an honest and open effort each day.
When things are great and when things are not so great. Prayer means, if you seem to be short on conversation, it’s okay to sit and listen. It means opening your heart to him. It means knowing he’s there and listening — and loving.
And if you seem to not be trusting — it is okay to ask God, through his holy spirit, to help you trust. To grant you the wisdom you need in any situation (James 1:5). And if you don’t feel it — ask again, and again, and again. Just like the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8).
God will answer. Maybe not verbally. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or in exactly the way you may want him to answer — but he will be there for you.
Let’s face it. We don’t always say yes to our own children with everything they request or think they desire — because we know that we know what’s best for them. Just as God knows what’s best for us. And we have to trust that.
Trusting God with our entire lives — with our marriages, our children, our families, with every single thing important to us — does not happen overnight. But over time, we come to learn that God will never — and I do mean never — let us down.
We are always in his hands. And what a glorious place to be.
For further reading:
Do We Put Our Trust in God When We Are Afraid?
What Does it Mean to Trust in Jesus?
How Can I Trust the Lord with All My Heart?
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