Why Should I Trust God?

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Why should I trust God?

Trusting God is much easier said than done. Wouldn’t you agree? Many Christians have made worrying more of a habit than trusting. It’s easier to worry, isn’t it? It’s almost second nature. It’s our way of trying to control things. But, you must admit that worrying makes us way more uncomfortable than trusting in God does. Think about it.

How many sleepless nights have you spent worrying over your children, job, ministry or relationships? How many times have you taken medication for headaches, stomach pain or anxiety? How many times have you snapped at someone because you were so distracted with your worries? Yeah, uncomfortable.

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.

George Mueller

This article isn’t just for Christians, though. There are so many people who wonder whether the God that Christian’s love is worth trusting. Is he trustworthy?

When we talk about trusting in God, we’re not talking about trusting that “everything will work out” and that somehow the “universe” will cause our circumstances to change for our benefit. (Where did the idea that the universe was some kind of being or entity come from anyway? Sounds very mystical…and vague.)

We’re talking about the God of the Bible. He is the true God. And Jesus Christ gave his life so that we can know Him. God is perfect, holy, loving, just, forgiving, powerful and so much more. He’s invisible yet ever-present. We can’t see Him, but there is evidence all around us (and inside of us) that proves He exists. He is real, not a conjured up idea.

So, you may ask, “Why should I trust God?”.

What Does it Mean to Trust God?

Before we answer the why, let’s answer the what. What does it mean to “trust God”? A quick internet search gave me this definition of the word “trust”: Firm belief in the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing; confidence or reliance. In order to trust someone we have to know something about their character and a bit about their track record.

So, we’re not talking about the “blind faith” or trust that we have when we sit on a chair we’ve never used before. Some have referred to the Christian faith as a blind faith (baseless or irrational), but they really couldn’t be farther from the truth. What we have is an intellectual faith, based on historical evidence and driven by the character of God.

God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty.

Peter Marshall

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”. If you read a little further in that chapter you’ll see that God rewards us for trusting in Him: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (verse 6)

Not only can we read through the Bible about God’s track record of faithfulness, but we have also experienced his trustworthiness in our personal lives.

To trust God means to take him at his word, to believe what he says. What has God said? He has given us prophesies, warnings and promises all throughout the Scriptures.

Did you know that Jesus Christ fulfilled a minimum of 300 Old Testament prophesies about the promised messiah during his earthly ministry? Here are three of them.

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. It is so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.

Martin Luther

In both the Old and New Testaments God provides for both his people and his enemies warnings, consequences for disobedience. In warning, God is demonstrating his love; he’s giving the hearer another chance to turn back to Him.

  • In the Old Testament book of Jonah, God warns the people of Nineveh what would happen if they continued to practice their abominable sins. God’s desire was for them to repent and forsake their sins and receive mercy followed by the blessings that come from faith and obedience.
  • In Colossians 2:8 believers are warned to avoid ungodly philosophies and false teachings. God wants us to meditate on His Word so we don’t believe the many lies that are taught in the world.
  • Jesus told the Pharisees in Matthew 12:36-37 that one day they would all be judged for every empty word they would speak. It’s important to note that God is serious about even the words we speak.

The Bible is full of promises that God has made and kept – thousands of them. Let’s take a look a three.

  • God promised Noah and his family, his descendants, and all living creatures that he would never again send a flood to cover the entire world. As a symbol of the promise he placed a rainbow in the sky, one that we can see after nearly every time it rains.
  • God made a promise to Abraham, that he would become the father of many nations. When Abraham was almost 100-years-old, and his wife Sarah was ninety, God fulfilled that promise by allowing them to conceive their first son, Isaac.
  • And the greatest promise of all: God promised a savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, based on God’s track record, we can trust God completely – even when it doesn’t make sense. I love what Charles Pope wrote: “To trust is to move to the stable conviction that whatever God decides to do is the right thing. It means being at peace with what He does, what He decides. It is to accept that God often acts in paradoxical ways, in ways that are different from, or even contrary to, our notions of what is best. God often permits evils for some greater good, even if this greater good is hidden from us.”

God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to.

Elisabeth Elliot

Reasons to Trust God

We’ve been failed by so many people that we find it difficult to take anyone at their word, let alone God. The pain of betrayal is one of the hardest things to overcome. Humans are flawed and our tendency is towards selfishness and sin. But God is perfect. Let’s take a look at some reasons to trust God.

We can trust God because he never lies

The Bible says that it is “impossible for God to lie“. We need to keep this in mind when we begin to struggle with doubts or when Satan, the father of lies, tells us things that are contrary to what God has said. It’s also important to remember this fact when we accuse God of not giving us what we ask for, because he has promised to give us what we need and not necessarily what we want.

We can trust God because he always keeps his promises

Numbers 23:19 teaches us about one of the main differences between humans and God: “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” Joshua 21:45 tells us about God’s faithfulness to Israel: “Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

God will always do what he says he will do. He is faithful to his word.

We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.

A.W. Tozer

We can trust God because he never changes

God does not change over time, as we do. He does not become weak, slow, or moody. His opinions never change, nor does his character. Christ, who is God, “is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8). God himself comforts his people by saying, “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” Malachi 3:6

Most people find comfort in stability. “Because of sin, however, we tend to look for permanence in things that are also changing. Whether it is a relationship, our bank balances, familiar surroundings, or something else, we all too readily seek stability in the created realm. And, moreover, we are eventually disappointed by such things, for everything in creation is subject to change.

“To find true stability and permanence, we must look beyond the created order to its Creator, for as Scripture tells us, God is unchanging. As we read in Malachi 3:6, the Lord God Almighty does not change.” (Ligonier.org)

We can trust God because his ways are perfect

Because God is perfect his ways are also perfect, since everything he does is based on his character. Everything God does is good. Therefore, everything he does for us is for our good. His creation is perfect, his timing is perfect, and his will is perfect.

Why should God’s perfection matter to us as we live each day? If we searched the whole world, we’d never find anyone who compares to God. No one is perfect. And because God is perfect, we can trust him.

I have complete confidence that God is able to take care of any situation and provide an answer to any question or problem – He has all the resources of the universe to draw upon in helping each one of us through any type of crisis if we will trust Him.

Charles Stanley

We can trust God because he loves his children

God doesn’t love us because we deserve it, since love cannot be earned. He loves us because He is love. You may be asking, “How do I know God loves me?” Let me count the ways! I’ll show you three ways God has proven his love for you.

  • While you were still lost in (and loving) your sin, Christ died for you. Through Christ’s death a door was opened for you to know God.
  • God has provided you with many things. Not only has he provided for your daily needs but He’s gifted you with talents and abilities to be used in service to him and others.
  • God speaks to you through his Word, the Bible. To be in a loving relationship communication is key. We talk to God through prayer and he speaks to us through the scriptures. In this way He teaches us, encourages us, rebukes us and comforts us.

We all go through times when we don’t feel God’s love, but that doesn’t mean his love has faltered – not one bit! In those moments it’s important to go to the Bible and read of his love for us. Remember, God keeps his promises, never lies and never changes.

Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives.

Francis Chan

Dear reader, I hope that through what I’ve shown you your question, “Why should I trust God?” has been answered. At the very least, may you have a desire to know more about our amazing God.

To trust God means to have a firm belief in his character and his track record. He always keeps his word and never lies. You should trust God because He never changes, his ways are perfect and He loves you deeply. He may not always give you what you ask for but He will always give you what you need.

All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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