Can you explain to me how to trust God? Do I sit and do nothing or try to do things and pray that I succeed?
To “trust God” is to “believe in Him and what He has promised to do.” In other words, to “trust Him” is to “have faith in Him and His promises.” So, we may ask this question, “How does one acquire faith?” Romans 10:17 provides the answer, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (NKJV). FAITH is produced by the WORD of God! We can TRUST GOD because we can TRUST HIS WORD. How do we know that we can trust God’s Word? Let’s read some scriptures which assure us that God’s word can be trusted.
*Numbers 23:19, “God is NOT MAN, THAT HE SHOULD LIE, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
*1st Samuel 15:29, “Also the Glory of Israel will NOT LIE or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind” (NASB).
*Hebrews 6:17-18, “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, CONFIRMED IT BY AN OATH, that by two immutable things, in which IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD TO LIE, we might have strong consolation.”
We can trust God’s Word because GOD CANNOT LIE! It stands to reason then that the more you read God’s Word, the more you will learn to trust Him. You will also see in His Word how He has made good on His promises to His people in former days. For example, in 1st Kings 8:56 we read, “Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, ACCORDING TO ALL THAT HE PROMISED. There has NOT FAILED ONE WORD OF ALL HIS GOOD PROMISE, which He promised through His servant Moses.” This serves to bolster our faith in His promises to us.
Now let’s tackle your other question, “Do I sit and do nothing or try to do things and pray that I succeed?” Again, “trusting God” is “taking Him (who cannot lie) at His word.” But this also means that AFTER we believe in God’s promises to us there will a REACTION in our lives. TRUSTING leads to DOING! To illustrate this let’s consider John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” The Lord Jesus was about to go back to heaven to be with His Father but before He did He gave this special promise to His disciples (and to us!); He promised that He would return and take us home to heaven! Do we trust God and believe He will fulfill this promise? We certainly should trust Him for He cannot lie. Yet this promise should have a very positive effect on our lives. At the very least, we should have a real PEACE in our hearts knowing that our eternal destiny is secure in Christ. Our “hearts should NOT be troubled,” even though we are left here in this ungodly world where we face all kinds of trials. This promise of being in heaven with our Savior should also produce in us a desire to be “heavenly-minded,” as we read in Colossians 3:1-2, “If then you were raised with Christ, SEEK THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. SET YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE, not on things of the earth.” I trust you can see that “trusting God” leads to “positive action” in our lives. In other words, we will ACT on His promises.
I pray you will learn to trust Him more as you lay hold of His promises. He will lead you in every area of your life if you will trust Him. He loves you (for “God is love”); He knows what’s best for you (for He is all-knowing); and He has the power to make good on His promises (for He is all-powerful). (293.7) (DO)