Trusting God Goes Beyond Believing God
Psalm 91:2
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Life is not predictable. There are ups and downs along the way. Many of us want to trust God. When times are good, it can feel easier. But when times feel difficult, it is even more important to trust God. God’s unchanging character can give us a firm foundation when things feel unsteady and uncertain.
Life can be going along smoothly for a season. Your job is satisfying. Your friends and family are enjoyable. Your goals, finances, health and outlook seem bright. Then, all of a sudden, life throws a curveball. Someone you know gets sick. You lose your job. A friend or family member betrays you. The things you felt secure in all of a sudden feel shaky and uncertain.
How do you trust that God is good in these circumstances? How do you trust Him when you do not understand what is happening? When you cannot see a resolution! How do you trust Him when you do not agree with what is happening or do not understand what He is doing? These are valid questions, and God wants to help you navigate them.
What Does It Mean To Trust God?
To trust is to believe in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of something. So, when it comes to trusting God, that means believing in His reliability, His Word, His ability, and His strength. In our message last week on a Christian World View we said at the very beginning we believe that “AN ABSOLUTE GOD EXISTS. In trusting God we believe the Bible says that God cannot lie. That He always keeps His promises. That He loves you and has good in store for you. Trusting in Him means believing what He says about Himself, about the world and about you is true.
Trusting God is more than a feeling; it’s a choice to have faith in what He says even when your feelings or circumstances would have you believe something different. Your feelings and circumstances matter and are very much worth paying attention to. God cares about them both. But those things alone are not reliable enough to base your life on. Feelings and circumstances can change at any moment, even in an instant. God, on the other hand, does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and therefore is worthy of your trust.
Trusting God is not about ignoring your feelings or reality. It is not pretending that everything is OK when it isn’t. Trusting God is living a life of belief in an obedience to God even when it’s difficult.
It is easy to believe that God exists based on what is recorded in Hebrews 11:6 – “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” It is also easy to believe that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth because that's what Genesis 1:1 reveals – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Most people believe God's promises will be fulfilled, according to Joshua 21:45 – “Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” Also, most people believe God is love because that's what 1 John 4:16b says – “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”
However, it is much easier to believe God than it is to trust God. You might think the two emotions are the same, but they are not. It is good to believe, but it is better to trust. Trusting God goes beyond just believing God. In fact, trusting God goes so much deeper. Unfortunately, it is harder to trust God than it is to merely believe God.
The Difference In Believing And Trusting God
You've heard the quote, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than being in a garage makes you a car." Have you ever thought about what that really meant? Have you ever asked yourself if that quote pertains to you? What does being a Christian even mean?
Growing up I never doubted God's existence. I knew he created the universe; He sent His only perfect son to die on the cross for my sins. I knew that sentence and I labeled myself as a believer because I knew who God was and I went to church on Sundays. I prayed to him when I needed help, I thanked him for my life and everything in it, I didn't do drugs or drink and I was a pretty good person.
Yeah, I did some bad things and may not have seemed like a Christian during the week, but since I went to church and I believed that everything was in His plan, I could just pray for forgiveness, and I'd be good to go... The bible says He loves me, right? That belief was what I ran with.
What I didn't realize was that believing in God wasn't all it takes to be a Christian. Believing in God didn't make me a Christian. Believing that He has a plan didn't mean that I trusted His plan. Which brings me to the question I for today; what is the difference between believing and trusting in God?
A person's belief is based on well-known facts, traditions, habits, rituals, and religion. A person's trust is based on one's relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
Belief is intellectual, according to what a person knows for sure. Trust is mental and spiritual, according to what a person doesn't know but is willing to accept.
To believe is to have some control over the circumstances and situations. To trust is to surrender all because there is no safety net below or a soft place to land.
Belief is based on something else happening along with what a person expects. Trust is all you have when nothing else is available.
Belief is based on previous examples and past track records. Trust is based on being completely confident about something new that you have never experienced before.
Believing God is accepting what others tell you. Believing God is relying on what you had seen happening to others. Believing God is comparing what you are expecting with past results.
Trusting God means not having a Plan B in case God's plan fails. Trusting God means having no "What if's." Trusting God means moving your burdens from your own shoulders and giving them to God who can handle them immediately, effectively, and efficiently.
Biblical People Who Trusted God
Abraham
God told Abraham to "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Abraham was a pagan at the time, but he trusted God. He did exactly what God told him to do. He left everything behind and went to an unknown place that God showed him as he went;
Genesis 12:1-9
(1) Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. (2) I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (4) So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (5) Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. (6) Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. (7) Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. (8) And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. (9) So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South. Because Abraham trusted God, he proved he was faithful, and God made him "father of many nations."
Jacob
Trusting God means allowing God to come into your sensitive situations. Earlier Jacob tricked his twin brother Esau out of his birthright.
Genesis 33:1
Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.
Many years later, he went back home to confront Esau because he trusted God to enable them to reconcile and be restored.
Job
Job admitted that most of his life he believed God. Job lost everything, including his ten children. He suffered from sores all over his body before he realized that he believed God without trusting him. Close to the end of the book, Job said, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5). In other words, Job began to trust God spiritually.
Peter
No doubt Peter loved Jesus. However, he had to grow into trusting Him the way Jesus wanted Peter to trust Him. Peter grew spiritually to trust Jesus on a deeper level and stepped out of a boat to get to Jesus.
Matthew 14:29
So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
Peter was crucified upside down because he did not think he was worthy enough to be crucified the same way as Jesus.
CONCLUSION
Trusting God goes beyond believing God. You might love God. You might serve God. However, it is not just a matter of loving God or worshipping God or serving in the Kingdom of God. It is a matter of trusting God beyond just believing God.
Don't ever think it is wrong to believe God. You should believe God, and you should also trust God.