How Do I Trust God?

By MFE

Question

How do I trust God or have faith? I don’t want to be disappointed if things don’t work out.

Answer

It can be hard, but it’s worth it. Trust is letting go—letting go in just about every way you can figure. Letting go of the outcome, the result, is probably the hardest thing. We often want things to work out in a certain way, and if they don’t, then we think something has gone wrong, or God hasn’t answered our prayer.

But trust is kind of like a muscle—we have to exercise it. The more we work it out, the stronger it becomes.

So we start practicing trust with the little things.

• Let go of what we can—let go of those shoes or game (or whatever) we really want to buy, and let God tell us what we need (not want).
• Practice turning to God for everything—what we’re going to wear, when we’re going text friends and how often, what we’re going to eat, where we’re going to park….
• Practice listening to God’s voice. How do we know it’s God speaking to us? Even though it may not be the answer we want, or we may not be exactly sure, God’s voice brings a sense of peace.

We read in James that “the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy” (3:17 GNT). And Elijah learned that the “still small voice” was able to reach him through earthquake, storm, and fire (1 Kings 19:12).

The more we practice letting go, turning to God for direction, and listening for God’s answer on the little things, the easier it becomes to trust God with the bigger things—relationships, money issues, health, family.

And we want to trust God because that’s the only way we can be sure that the path forward is the right one to take. The psalmist says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Prov 3:5,6 NLT).

And then, we must stop worrying. We must release everything to God, as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was crucified. Let’s remember what he said: “nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done” (Luke 22;42 KJV). He wasn’t thrilled to go through the crucifixion, but his yielding up revealed that God’s will was the resurrection.

We can replace worry with gratitude. We can wake up every morning deciding to be grateful for at least five things (start with one, and then keep going). As we feel grateful for the little things, we start seeing more and more of God’s blessings. That’s one way to build our trust muscle. Even though they may not be what we expect, the results will be wonderful.