What does it mean to trust God?

[Trapped]

I was listening to a Christian station on the radio earlier today, and the phrase "trust God" came up.

God is trustworthy. We can trust Him.

What does this mean for you in your life?

Is this a mindset only? In other words, no matter what happens, you still trust that God is good and is working all things for good, and that He did not cause your pain, and that's all it means?

Or is it a truth that actually affects your actions and behaviors? In other words, something happens, and your trust in God causes you to act or not act in a way that you would otherwise if you did not trust God?

I'm being vague because I don't have a particular situation in mind, and it could apply to many, but I can give an example if this is too undefined to latch onto.

[countmeworthy]

Great question Trapped!
I have some thoughts to share.
We have been taught (and rightfully so) to have Faith.. to Trust in God. I have found if we 'try' to have faith. If we 'try' to trust God, it doesn't work. Faith and Trust cannot be mental. It did not work for me.

So here's what I have learned over many many years of trials and tribulations: It's a learning experience. The deeper my walk, the deeper my 'Friendship' with God, the easier Faith and Trust became to believe in and to see the results first hand.

I have learned to say "May Your perfect will be done in this matter. I give it to You and whatever will be, will be'. But it has taken many, many years for me to truly have Faith and Trust God is hearing me. It seemed I went through the motions and that by going through the motions I trusted God. However, if going through the motions helped my Trust in God, why was I filled with anxiety over what I was praying about?

Next: I tell the Lord (while speaking to me too) "You tell me to Trust You and to have Faith in You. So I do. I Trust You." At first, a long, long time ago, I felt as if I was mouthing the words only. (mental acrobatics) But the more I spoke God's promises into me, such as 'You promise to supply all my needs, You promise You will never leave me or forsake me'...I began experiencing God's Lovingkindness come through for me. Psalm 23 ends with the FAITH comment "Surely Your Goodness and Your Mercy follows me all the days of my life". I often thank the Lord that His Goodness and Mercy follows me everywhere I go, at all times, all the days of my life.

By speaking scriptures like these, my Trust in the Lord began to increase and I began to see the fruit of my prayers. He began to answer my petitions quickly and speedily 'unexpectedly'. I say 'unexpectedly' because I had little faith. I no longer have little faith.

Something else. I spend a lot of time just Praising Him and Thanking Him simply for being God. He really is worthy to be Praised, Honored, Glorified with a heart filled with thanksgiving.

I believe this is key for our Faith and Trust in Him to increase. And for our prayers, our petitions, our requests to be answered speedily and quickly.

I address only the Father sometimes. Sometimes my Praises and prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving are addressed to Jesus only. And I thank the Holy Spirit a LOT for pointing me to Jesus and to the Father. I thank Him for counseling me and guiding me in all Truth. For giving me Revelation and Understanding. I share this because I have experienced my Faith and Trust grow by leaps and bounds by addressing the Triune God together and separately. So this has been key for my spiritual growth.

Trusting and having Faith is a process, a journey. I am not sure it can even be taught by anyone but God Himself.

I have read Hebrews 11 many times over. I have much of it memorized. I have masticated verse 1 over and over. A few days ago, I read it again and suddenly I had more understanding.. I received revelation I cannot explain in words.

I would love to read other people's thoughts and experiences on Trusting God. And btw, I believe Faith and Trust go hand in hand. Just saying.

Oh!! check this out! Every morning I wake up to a verse of the day. Today's verse is Isaiah 26:3
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You.

[Nell]

Originally Posted by Trapped

God is trustworthy. We can trust Him. What does this mean for you in your life?

For me it's both a mindset and it affects my actions and behavior. But mostly, its very personal. It's having a best friend who has proven Himself over, and over, and over. It's my life. It's the way I live.

When something happens, depending on what happens, I often don't even ask for direction...I just know. I trust Him and, he trusts me. I just realized that as I'm thinking about "trust." It's a two-way street. Maybe not at first, but it's been a long journey.

I didn't get here by being told to "trust God". The same way my parents never told me to trust them. I just grew up in their home and they proved themselves being trustworthy without saying a word. They loved me, took care of me, helped me, taught me how civilized people live. They trusted God, and taught me to trust Him, too.

Nell

[Sons to Glory!]

All things in our relationship with God are based on love. Therefore, if we love Him (as He loved us first), we should also trust Him. And our trust in His love means that we also know He is fully able and has our very best interests at heart --- no matter what the outward situation may look like, or the discouraging and contrary thoughts that come our way.

"Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy - to the only God our Savior . . ." Jude 1:24-25

And trust is really pretty synonymous with faith and believing, is it not? So we believe He loves us and is able to do what He said, so we trust Him in His instruction to us though the Anointing and Word.

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by Trapped

God is trustworthy. We can trust Him. What does this mean for you in your life?

Trusting God is the action that proves our faith. Often the context for us as believers are the fiery trials in our life. God Himself, in His infinite love and wisdom, has determined that His people must follow a path of faith, and for that faith to be real, that faith must be tested and tried. How else do we explain the book of Job?

Trusting God is often our last recourse. All other things have been tried. Perhaps we have been cornered. Or stripped of what we once had. Or we are watching loved ones, and we can't do anything to help them. Things are beyond our control. The result is the same whether it was our fault or not. In a very real sense, all you have is God Himself. Yet He appears to be absent. It can be quite a frightful experience.

I remember one such time. I was scared and mad. I was wronged. I was literally in a dungeon of sorts. I waited for a rescue which did not come. In anguish I began to speak out what I believed. It was a desperate confession of faith. Voicing the faith in my heart served to deliver me from the demon voices in my head. No one can tell me they were not real because Paul had the same experience. His trust in God became a shield of faith quenching fiery darts.

Without these trials, the depths of the Bible will never be real to us. All of the writers of the Bible passed thru these times. Their stories are the proofs of scripture. Think about Hebrews 11.

One time while singing from the LC hymnal, I came across the phrase, "each sweet Ebenezer," or something like that. I decided to find out what that meant. Obviously it did not refer to some "scrooge." It came from a real situation Israel faced. They were in trouble. They were scared. They needed help. Then they had this realization, which we all need: up till now the Lord has helped us.

This is the foundation of trusting God -- don't forget all He has done already. It seems like every new trial brings new anxiety, and a loss of memory. We forget all God has done to care for us our whole life. We so easily forget how loving and capable He is, and anxiety takes their place. We think we are alone to face these trials, yet in God's plan, these times are more precious than gold.