10.2.24

This week we are looking at the trustworthiness of God. Most of us have at least some level of trust in God. Often, we possess a deep trust. And yet, there are always circumstances that come along from day to day that cause us to panic, be filled with worry, and feel the need to try and take control ourselves. We trust in God - but deep down, we really don’t.

And because the Scriptures are filled with calls to grow in our trust in God, it’s clear that God expects us to struggle with this - to have to work on growing in it. When it comes to our salvation, we either trust in Jesus or we don’t. But when it comes to our daily sanctification, that trust will often blow with the wind. And God expects and understands that, which is why he continually urges us to rely on the Spirit to grow in our confidence in his faithfulness and provision.

So what are some practical things we can look to that will help us to grow in our ability to trust God? Abraham is a great picture of how that works. He didn’t trust God through gimmicks - rather, he simply looked at God - at who he is. The Bible is filled with calls for believers to fix their eyes on Jesus - on the cross - on his sacrifice of love for us. Why? Because that’s how we grow in our faith. If God was willing to give us his most precious gift, then he will certainly provide for our lesser things. We grow in our trust not by simply leaping into the abyss of trust and hoping God will be there. But we fix our eyes on who he is - what he’s done - and how he’s already proven his great love for us.

The second thing we need to keep in mind, is that God often (usually) provides for our needs in ways that are far deeper than we were originally asking. Which means, his answers don’t often look like our requests. God always gives us far more than we could ever ask or imagine. But what that means for a faithless heart is that we often miss the provisions of God. They don’t look anything like we were asking for. Take for example the promise of God in Psalm 37 to give us the desires of our hearts. We normally read that as God giving what our hearts long for. But God sees beneath those longings and desires and leads us to a deeper satisfaction than the temporary and often shallow ways that we were asking for. We think we need the validation of a person to love us or a job to validate us. And while we need that love and that validation, God often shows us that it’s found in ways we could never imagine. And particularly, how it’s found in him!

The third thing we need to keep in mind as we approach growing our trust in God, is that God calls us to obey unconditionally - even if it looks like it’s going to cost you. The cost of obedience is often stems from the fear that anything we lose or miss out on in our obedience will be greater than what God gives us in return. It’s the age-old lie of the Garden. That God will give us second best. That he’s holding out on us. And that he doesn’t want us to really swing in life. But nothing could be further from the truth. God points us to the cross - an unimaginable loss with no redemption to those who saw it - and asks us believe that our obedience will give us far more than we could ever get by launching out on our own.