by Kevin Burton
Trusting God, trusting fully in God, brings with it a peace that just isn’t available anywhere else.
The Bible is full of both good and bad examples, people who did or did not trust in God. The stories are true and God has preserved them for your and me to read.
Can imperfect humans get to a perfect trust in God? I wouldn’t dare to answer that. But we should be getting closer and closer to it as we live the Christian life. And if that is happening, it will show.
Here’s the promise:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight,” (Prov. 3:5-6 NASB).
And here’s the result of taking God at His word:
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream, and does not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought, nor cease to yield fruit (Jer. 17:7-8 NASB).
In the latter passage, notice that Jeremiah does not say, “if” the heat comes. The heat is coming. If it isn’t on now, just you wait.
Trust in God brings with it a lack of anxiety and a continuation of good works, “fruit” as the text reads.
I understand the beginning to verse 7, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose trust is the Lord,” to mean “whose only trust is the Lord.
Think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, captured Hebrew servants working in the inner circles of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.
God was with them and they prospered. Soon others in the king’s service became jealous of them and made it known to the king that these three men did not bow down to the golden idol the king had set up.
The work of the Hebrew servants was good enough and they were valuable enough to the king that that Nebuchadnezzar gave them a second chance to bow down.
The king then laid out the consequences of continued disobedience. But the three Hebrew workers gave the king details of their complete trust in the living God:
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego replied to the king, ‘Nebuchadnezzar, we are not in need of an answer to give you concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will rescue us from your hand, O king.But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up.”
You know the story. God supernaturally intervened on their behalf and the three not only survived a furnace heated seven to times the usual heat, but they didn’t even smell like smoke when they came out.
That’s trust! And that’s a God who can deliver and is worthy of our trust!
Finally, here are some important details of our trust in God and the promises reserved for those who do. This comes courtesy of Alistair Begg, speaker on the Truth For Life radio ministry.
“Reader, this is an important question. Listen to the Christian’s answer, and see if it is yours. ‘In whom do you now trust?’”
“I trust, “ says the Christian, “in a triune God. I trust the Father, believing that He has chosen me from before the foundations of the world; I trust Him to provide for me in providence, to teach me, to guide me, to correct me if need be, and to bring me home to His own house where there are many rooms.”
“I trust the Son. He is very God of very God—the man Christ Jesus. I trust in Him to take away all my sins by His own sacrifice and to clothe me with His perfect righteousness. I trust Him to be my Intercessor, to present my prayers and desires before His Father’s throne, and I trust Him to be my Advocate at the last great day, to plead my cause, and to justify me. I trust Him for what He is, for what He has done, and for what He has promised still to do.”
“And I trust the Holy Spirit—He has begun to save me from my inbred sins; I trust Him to drive them all out; I trust Him to curb my temper, to subdue my will, to enlighten my understanding, to check my passions, to comfort my despondency, to help my weakness, to illuminate my darkness. I trust Him to dwell in me as my life, to reign in me as my King, to sanctify me completely, spirit, soul, and body, and then to take me up to dwell with the saints in light forever.”
“What blessed trust—to trust Him whose power will never be exhausted, whose love will never weaken, whose kindness will never change, whose faithfulness will never fail, whose wisdom will never be overruled, and whose perfect goodness can never be impaired!” Begg writes. “You are happy, reader, if this trust is yours! So trusting, you will enjoy sweet peace now and glory later, and the foundation of your trust will never be removed.”
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