“And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10
“Trust” is a rare thing in our day and time.
There was, of course, a period of history in which we as a society seemed to be more trusting. We trusted institutions. We trusted authority. We trusted the media. We implicitly trusted all these entities and more, but those days are long gone.
We live in a time when we don’t know who we can trust. We are increasingly jaded in this respect, so we tend not to trust anyone. And yet God is the same as He has ever been and is as trustworthy now as at any other point in time. That’s because God is faithful – He always keeps His Word, and because He does, we can always trust Him.
That’s easier said than done because, amidst a sea of distrust, it’s very hard to muster up the confidence we ought to have regarding God. And yet we know we should. We may even want to trust God more. So how can we grow in our trust in Him?
Let me suggest three ways:
1. Exercise the muscle.
If you want to be able to do more pushups, then there is really only one way to do it, and that’s to do pushups. And though you might not be able to do very many at first, through persistence and discipline, you will inevitably find that your muscles are growing, and so will your pushup ability.
The same thing is true spiritually. If we want to be able to meditate on God’s Word, then meditate on God’s Word. If we want to be a better servant, then be a better servant. And if we want to be able to trust, then we should trust. We must exercise the muscle.
True enough, it might not be easy at first. But every time we pray instead of worry, we look to God’s promises rather than our circumstances; every time we turn to the Bible rather than our own thoughts, these exercises help our trust muscles.
2. Remember the past.
If we take a moment every now and then to look back over the course of our lives, we will find that God has given us countless examples of just how trustworthy He is, how He has never abandoned us, and how He has always provided for us. It might not have been in the way and time we desired, but He has done it – repeatedly. It reminds me of my favorite quote from the great man of faith, George Mueller: “If God fails me this time, it will be the first time.”
Like the life of Mueller, our lives are strewn with God’s faithfulness if we would only take the time to remember. So if we want to grow in our trust, instead of being overwhelmed by some circumstance that is causing us anxiety, we should remember and let our trust be grown by the great acts of God in the past. Above all, let us call to mind that the One we are trusting “did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all” (Romans 8:32), which is the third way to grow in trust.
3. Look to the cross.
Yes, God has provided for us in tangible ways. He has brought about jobs, relationships, opportunities, healing, etc. And yet there is no greater example of how trustworthy God is than through the cross of Jesus Christ.
We were dead in our sins and transgressions. We were helpless to do anything for ourselves. But God, in His great mercy, provided for us and turned us from outcasts to adopted sons and daughters.
If we ever find ourselves waning in trust and want our trust to grow, then there is no better place to fix our eyes than the cross.
Written by Michael Kelley, Guest Contributor
To read more of Michael’s writing, check out his daily blog, “Forward Progress.” http://michaelkelley.co/
