What Does It Mean to Trust God?

On the way home from church I saw a church message board that said, "Got Problems? Trust Jesus!" I thought to myself, "if life could be so simple!" How many of us have had people say to us, when sharing the challenges of life, "you just have to trust God!".

In church we sings hymns like, 'Trusting as the moments fly', or 'Trust and Obey' and I often wonder if we really understand what those words mean. Is it possible for us to just turn over the cares of life to God and forget about them? I would suggest, No!

Now, before you get all upset about my theology, hear me out. In order for us to have the privelege of turning our cares over to the Almighty, and then expecting Him to handle them, I would suggest that there is something more required of us. I maintain that we cannot abandon our cares without some prerequisite behavior. This is my point, if we are to trust God to handle our affairs, we must also be acting responsibly and living righteously!

The Bible says, "O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.  "For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory : no good thing will he withold from them who walk uprightly."(Psalm 84:9-12) This Psalm helps us understand that we can trust God for all good things... if we are walking uprightly! So now, the question becomes, 'what does it mean to walk uprightly'?

'Nancy and Rob' lived in the Midwest. They lived on a very meager income and often had trouble paying all of their financial obligations each month. They commented to me one day that they were having difficulty and, soon, they expected to have their utilities shut off. I asked them what they had planned to do about it and they responded, convincingly, that they were trusting God to provide. I thought how wonderful it was they had such trust.

Some time later I learned that this couple had a habit of going to a nearby casino every week. While there, they would spend about $50.00 and then go home when that was lost. That came to $200.00 a month being thrown away for what they called, 'entertainment'! When there utilities were finally shut off, they came to me for help. Well, you can imagine what my response was.

If we are to trust God to provide for us, we must, in my opinion, be acting responsibly. I do not believe the argument can be made that this couples behavior was responsible. We are, after all, the stewards of all that God gives us and He expects us to use what we have wisely.

Also, I have heard many people, who were not Christians, expect God to meet their needs without realizing that the promises of God are for His people. God will never withhold any good thing from those who belong to Him and are living in accordance with His word. The Psalmist said, "no good thing will he withhold from them walk uprightly".

Friends, today God wants you to know that whatever the challenges of life may be for you, you CAN trust Him....if you are living responsibly and righteously! Are you using your resources in such as way as to please God? Are your sins forgiven? Do you have the assurance in your heart that you belong to the family of God? If so, you can 'cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you (1st Peter 5:7)

I have found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay;
He tells me every care on Him to roll.
Refrain:
He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

Charles Fry