This is an issue that we all struggle with in our lives, some more than others. I have struggled with it my whole Christian life. I asked myself recently, why is it so hard for me to trust God? I have complete faith that God is who He says He is, I have faith that He will do what He says He will, I have faith that He rose Jesus from the grave, but why is it so hard for me to trust Him with the small matters? Job issues, quitting smoking, etc… I’ll have a situation going on and I’ll give it to God, with my words, but continue to worry about the situation. Sometimes, driving myself crazy with worry. My guess is you yourself have thought these thoughts before and asked yourself the same question.
God finally laid this conviction on my heart and a research topic was born. Why IS it so hard for us to trust God? I’ll tell you why in just a minute, but first let’s define the words trust and faith. I read somewhere that they mean different things, but that’s not true. Trust: firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Faith: complete trust or confidence in someone or something. These definitions give us a better understanding of what it means to trust God. We know God is reliable, we know His Word is the truth, we know God is able to do the impossible, and we have complete confidence in Him keeping His promises. Solomon even tells us in Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”
Still though there’s that part of us that continues to worry, continues to have fear. We’re afraid we won’t get the new job we need, we’re afraid we won’t have enough money to make it to next payday. We worry about issues at home, we worry about where we’ll be in five months. Worry and fear start to take control of our lives. We wind up begging God, Please God, please, let me get this job. Please let me have enough money to make it to next payday. Please take this situation from me God and take care of it. It makes us sick, depressed, and perhaps starting to wonder if God is listening to us, or if He even exist at all. We just can’t let go of our concerns, no matter how hard we try. They dig down deep inside our souls, making our doubts rise up to the top.
Let me give you a slice of hope. Worry and fear do NOT come from God. They are not of God at all. Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-9, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me--everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Whenever you do worry about something, turn that worry into a prayer. Pray more, worry less. Paul also states in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” Knowing these verses, especially 2 Timothy 1:7, we should have no problem trusting God and not worrying about anything right?
Easier said than done. So, why is it so hard? Here are two reasons. First, Satan will do anything in his power to try and make us lose our faith in God. Satan is the father of lies, the master of lies; fear… is a liar. When we worry, Satan begins to put doubts in our head. He wants nothing more than to kill our faith in God. He wants to steal our joy, destroy our relationship with God. Second, it is my belief that even though we still have faith in God, we still trust in all He has done and will do, we have trouble trusting Him with trivial (and big) stuff because we don’t know the plans He has for us. Yes, we are not supposed to “lean on our own understanding,” but I know I can’t be the only one who wishes I knew God’s plan for me. But we don’t. We have no idea what God has in store for us. God created us, He knows what’s best for all of us, even if that means us not getting what we want or what we think we need. If we didn’t get that job we wanted, that’s not the place where God needs us to be right now. God will always provide for us in some way or another. So when you start to worry or fear again, remember, that’s the devil talking. Resist him, and he will flee. Keep your mind focused on God and His Word. He will get you through.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.” - 1 Peter 5:7
God finally laid this conviction on my heart and a research topic was born. Why IS it so hard for us to trust God? I’ll tell you why in just a minute, but first let’s define the words trust and faith. I read somewhere that they mean different things, but that’s not true. Trust: firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Faith: complete trust or confidence in someone or something. These definitions give us a better understanding of what it means to trust God. We know God is reliable, we know His Word is the truth, we know God is able to do the impossible, and we have complete confidence in Him keeping His promises. Solomon even tells us in Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”
Still though there’s that part of us that continues to worry, continues to have fear. We’re afraid we won’t get the new job we need, we’re afraid we won’t have enough money to make it to next payday. We worry about issues at home, we worry about where we’ll be in five months. Worry and fear start to take control of our lives. We wind up begging God, Please God, please, let me get this job. Please let me have enough money to make it to next payday. Please take this situation from me God and take care of it. It makes us sick, depressed, and perhaps starting to wonder if God is listening to us, or if He even exist at all. We just can’t let go of our concerns, no matter how hard we try. They dig down deep inside our souls, making our doubts rise up to the top.
Let me give you a slice of hope. Worry and fear do NOT come from God. They are not of God at all. Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-9, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me--everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Whenever you do worry about something, turn that worry into a prayer. Pray more, worry less. Paul also states in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” Knowing these verses, especially 2 Timothy 1:7, we should have no problem trusting God and not worrying about anything right?
Easier said than done. So, why is it so hard? Here are two reasons. First, Satan will do anything in his power to try and make us lose our faith in God. Satan is the father of lies, the master of lies; fear… is a liar. When we worry, Satan begins to put doubts in our head. He wants nothing more than to kill our faith in God. He wants to steal our joy, destroy our relationship with God. Second, it is my belief that even though we still have faith in God, we still trust in all He has done and will do, we have trouble trusting Him with trivial (and big) stuff because we don’t know the plans He has for us. Yes, we are not supposed to “lean on our own understanding,” but I know I can’t be the only one who wishes I knew God’s plan for me. But we don’t. We have no idea what God has in store for us. God created us, He knows what’s best for all of us, even if that means us not getting what we want or what we think we need. If we didn’t get that job we wanted, that’s not the place where God needs us to be right now. God will always provide for us in some way or another. So when you start to worry or fear again, remember, that’s the devil talking. Resist him, and he will flee. Keep your mind focused on God and His Word. He will get you through.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.” - 1 Peter 5:7
