Whom Can I Trust?
By Dot Bowen
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose Word I praise. In God, I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? Psalm 56:3-4 (NIV)
As we conclude our series on faith, let’s review what we’ve learned over the past few weeks. The first two weeks we asked, “What made Jesus marvel?” and “Whom can I please?” We’ll wrap up by addressing the question, “Whom can I trust?” As time passes, I’m more aware of my choice to trust God or to trust others, my feelings, or my ability. There are days I trust God, and there are days I trust everything but God. Let me assure you that so far, God has been the most reliable.
“In God We Trust” is stamped or printed on all US currency. But perhaps for some of us it should say “in money we trust.” We all put our trust in something. At times it may seem easier to put our trust in our financial status instead of into the hands of a powerful God. But the truth is the stock market has proven to be risky, and God has proven to be trustworthy. To choose to trust God in times of adversity is difficult, but we are given a choice to decide in whom or what we place our trust as we live our lives here on earth. Making the choice to trust God is not the same as choosing what to wear today or selecting a nail polish color. The faith to trust God must come from God. It is humanly impossible to really trust God without Him giving us the faith to do so.
In Hebrews 12:2, the writer tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” Wouldn’t it be great if we could Google a site and order a gallon of faith? If that were possible, we could take credit for our faith. If we have to trust God for our faith, then God gets the credit. Our responsibility is to be willing to trust God and then let Him do the rest. Margaret Clarkson said this when speaking on accepting adversity in our lives: “Always it is initiated by an act of will on our part; we set ourselves to believe in the overruling goodness, providence, and sovereignty of God and refuse to turn aside no matter what may come, no matter how we feel.” This is why I teach about God’s goodness, God’s sovereignty, and all of God’s attributes. We must have knowledge of who He is before we can trust Him.
For years, all I knew was Jesus died for me. I lived half my life with Jesus on the cross, when in reality He is sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding on my (and your!) behalf. Jesus is powerful and in control of everything, and I can put my faith in Him because He loved me enough to leave heaven to die for me. Jesus promised never to leave us and gave us the gift of being able to cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us. This isn’t a promise for a pain-free life, but we will have a “peace-full” life. If I’m transparent, it’s probably more difficult for me to trust God when things are going well rather than when life is challenging. God wants me to trust Him at all times.
I love author Philip Power says: “The daily circumstances of life will afford us opportunities enough of glorifying God in Trust, without our waiting for any extraordinary calls upon our faith. Let us remember that the extraordinary circumstances of life are but few; that much of life may slip past without their occurrence; and that if we be not faithful and trusting in that which is little, we are not likely to be so in that which is great”. What is going on in your life at the moment? Are you in the midst of a difficult season or are things going pretty well? In every season, the wisest thing we can do is trust God to accomplish His purpose in and through us. My prayer for you and me is that we will choose to live by faith in a God who has offered His life to us! He left the choice up to us!
Further Reading Psalms 56:3-4; Psalms 42:11; Hebrews 12:21; Hebrews 13:5; Peter 5:7; Proverbs 18:10-11