TRUSTING GOD IN ALL THINGS
PART 6:
Think about the word trust with me for a moment. What does it really mean? What do
you trust in? Who do you trust? And what does your behavior show about your trust–in
people and in things? A quick Google search turns up this definition of trust: "assured
reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; one in
which confidence is placed." Hmm … does that describe your trust in God? Do you have
an assured reliance in his character, his ability, his strength? Do you have confidence in
him? It's something to think about, isn't it?
When we accept the salvation of Jesus Christ, it is the first step in becoming the kind of
Converterlator God wants us to be. We begin a journey where life takes on a whole new
perspective as we learn what the Bible has to tell
us about God and his plan for our lives. Our view
of life and our view of this world begin to change
as the Spirit of God enlightens us through his
Word about this temporary, perishing world and eternity to come. As a result, our goals
and motivation for living totally change.
We live in a world where so much is really beyond our control. Variables beyond count
impact our lives in ways we would not think possible. If we are to maintain a sense of
balance, contentment, and peace in our lives, we must learn to trust in God and his
provision for us. This is not an easy concept to grasp, and sometimes it is even more
difficult to see "trusting in God" actually working in our lives as we meet the challenges
of everyday living. But he is there, guiding and directing our lives. The Bible tells us,"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see"
(Hebrews 11:1). We have confidence and assurance that we can trust in him!
The decision to believe in the person of Jesus Christ, alone, for personal salvation is by
far the most important life-impacting decision a person will ever make. But our decision
to believe is only the beginning. As we learn more about God, we learn to trust him more,
to have confidence in his character, to rely on his ability and strength.
Trusting in God is the most important decision I ever made. However, another very
important decision I made was to marry my lovely wife, Ruth Ann. We had a unique
encounter and a rather short dating relationship before we decided, based on our faith and
trust in God, to marry and become one under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Under the best of conditions, marriage is a risk enterprise based on a faith relationship
with each other. Both of us were on the staff of a major Christian organization with
substantial training and exposure to the Word of God. This gave us great insight into
God's plan for marriage, and the roles of the husband and wife. We were on the "same
page" when it came to our belief system, and we had a good understanding of what it
meant to have a "living relationship" with Christ, both personally and as a couple.
Our "courtship" involved at most three weeks of seeing each other over a period of
several months. After I proposed, and she said yes, we had about five months to make the
necessary arrangements for our wedding. Since our ministry responsibilities required us
to live in different parts of the country, we did not see each other until the date of the
wedding, communicating by way of snail mail, packages, and land-line telephone (which
was expensive!). We had faith that we were meant to be together.
In the meantime, I met with the ministry's staff psychologist who reviewed the tests we
had taken when we joined the staff, and his assessment of our relationship was, "This
marriage was made in heaven." We met one of his long-term assistants about two years
later and told her this story, and she said, "You folks have to be a one in a millioncouples; he never says that to anybody." We both just looked at each other and said,
"Wow!" But the bottom line was, we still didn't know each other that well!
Let's face it. Each one of us continues to develop as an individual after we marry. And
relationships continue to grow and change throughout marriage. Before we say "I do"
there is a lot we do not know about the other person. We even do not know how we will
change over the years. How we respond and react is constantly changing with the factors
that impact us along the way.
Ruth Ann and I both had to trust that God was leading us into this most important
relationship. We both had a living relationship with God, giving us the confidence this
was the right step, the right person, and the right time to make this vital life-changing
commitment to our God-given soul mate for life. Marriage for us was truly a "leap of
faith" learning to trust in the guidance given to us by God. The years have proven that our
trust in God has allowed us to enjoy blessing beyond measure. We've changed and
grown, and our trust in God has grown deeper and stronger and we've also learned to
trust each other more.
HOW TO GROW TRUST
WITH GOD
Our relationship with God and the trust we have in him also changes and grows. We use
whatever knowledge we have at the time to take a step of
faith in establishing a relationship with God. We then
embark on a process and a journey that takes place in the
heart of every believer for both this world and the world to
come. "Salvation" is not the end, but a beginning.
There is more to salvation than just finding the fire escape from this perishing world to a
place in heaven someday. It takes time for us to be transformed by the renewing of our
mind. "The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the
ear" (Mark 4:28, ESV). Just as it takes time for a crop to grow, it takes time for us to
grow in our faith and trust in God.
Salvation is all about saving us from the perishing and preparing us for the imperishable
world of eternity to come. The Bible tells us, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but
on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2
Corinthians 4:18). After establishing a relationship with Christ by trusting in him alone
for our salvation, we find this is just the beginning of a new life process he wants to work
out in us, changing everything from our worldview, motivation for living, our goals in
life, and our focus … to preparation for eternity.