Trusting God

05/10/2009 by John Marsden.

What Does it Mean to Trust God?

1. Don’t Be Troubled

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me.” – John 14:1

• Trusting God basically means that you don’t “let your heart be troubled.”  Instead of worrying about things, you can trust God that He knows what’s best for you and then take each situation as it comes your way.
• There is no one stronger (Genesis 49:24), wiser (Isaiah 11:2), more loving (Romans 5:6-8), more patient (2 Peter 3:9), more faithful (Psalm 25:10 and Hebrews 10:23), more good (Matthew 19:17), or more just (2 Thessalonians 1:6) than God.  He’s perfect in every way (Matthew 5:48).
• The Bible says that God will never lie (Titus 1:2) and that He can’t deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13).
• If God says something, you can believe He’ll do it.  He’s a Rock we can depend on (Isaiah 26:4).
• Trusting God means you realize who He is, and you respond appropriately.

What Happens When You Trust God?

1. You’ll Find Favor“The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” – Luke 1:28

• What are some things that happen when we choose to trust God?
• When Gabriel showed up to tell Mary the news of Jesus’ birth, he called her “highly favored.”  When we choose to have an overall attitude of trust in God, lots of things will happen, including finding favour.
• Find favor with God means that He will show us mercy and hear us when we talk to Him (Job 33:26 and Psalm 69:13).  It means we’ll be protected (Psalm 5:12), shown compassion (Psalm 102:13), honoured (Luke 1:25), and saved in trouble (Psalm 106:4).
• Finding favour with men means things will be easier for us (Proverbs 13:15), we’ll be appreciated (Proverbs 28:23), we’ll be helped (Proverbs 19:12), and we’ll be shown mercy (Genesis 32:5).
• The basic way to think of favour is that the person we have favor with looks at us in a positive light (1 Samuel 29:4), as a friend.

2. You’ll Gain Peace“Do not be anxious about anything, but … present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7

• Besides finding favour with both God and men when we choose to trust God, we also gain real peace.
• Trusting God in a situation means that we don’t anxiously worry about it.  It’s in this mindset of quiet trust that God will give us real peace.
• Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a time when you were worried about something, but after deciding to trust God you gained peace about it.
• In Luke 7:36-50, Jesus showed what it means to trust what He says.  He told a fearful, worried woman that everything was going to be okay, saying, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  When we trust what God tells us, we’ll be filled with the same kind of peace.
• Paul said that we’d be filled with “all joy and peace” when we choose to trust God (Romans 15:13).  Paul even calls God “the God of peace” in Romans 15:33 and 16:20.

3. You’ll Become Righteous“To the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.” – Romans 4:5

• Trusting God brings righteousness.  There is no other way to be made right before God except for simply trusting Him to do it.
• Philippians 2:13 says that it is “God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”  As you trust God, He’ll take over and make you righteous.
• When we try to be righteous on our own, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).  We simply can’t become righteous without trusting God.  He’s too holy and we’re too imperfect.
• The Christian faith is based in a delicate balance of trusting God to do His part, while we do our part – faith in what God has done alongside works that display a changed life (James 2:14-26).

4. You’ll Be Honoured“…those who honor Me I will honor…” – 1 Samuel 2:30

• When you trust God, it’s like you’re honoring Him as your Master, Creator, and Savior.  And when you honor God, He promises He’ll honor you as well.
• Psalm 84:11 says that God is a “sun and shield” and that He’ll honor us if we’re blameless before Him.  A blameless walk (righteousness) only comes through trust.  See also Proverbs 21:21 and Psalm 91:14-15.
• Proverbs 22:4 says that in fearing and trusting God we’ll find “riches and honor and life.”
• Romans 10:11 says that those who trust God will never be shamed.
• Choosing to trust God means that He’ll honor us and hold us up as examples to follow.

5. You’ll Be Saved“They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.” – Psalm 22:5

• Trusting in God means that we’ll be saved out of adverse circumstances.
• You may still go through hard situations, but you can say with the Psalmist, “save your servant who trusts in you” (Psalm 86:2), and cling to the promise that God will, in the end, save you (Isaiah 25:9).
• God promised to save Jeremiah in the midst of the fall of Jerusalem, because he trusted in Him (Jeremiah 39:18).
• What are some common things to look to for salvation from a rough situation?
• God alone can save you out of any situation you’re in, not friends, family, the government, or your money (Psalm 146:3).

6. You’ll Receive the Promise“Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” – Hebrews 6:12b

• The last thing we gain by trusting God is probably the most obvious – we’ll gain whatever it is He promised to us.
• Abraham patiently trusted God and therefore got what was promised (Hebrews 6:13-14 and Roman 4:18-21).
• Hebrews 11 is full of examples of men and women of God who received what was promised because they trusted in God – Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and more.
• Start trusting God today with your life.

Have a great day

JOHN

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