Trust? As Christians, we talk about it, we sing about it:
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, Thus saith the Lord.
"Trust" is mentioned 147 times. Old Testament - 134 times
New Testament - 13 times The most in any one section is 44 in PSALMS.
But what is Trust?
Trust, as it is used in the Bible, means to have confidence in, place reliance upon, reasonably expect, believe, and entrust. We are to trust in God and his love to provide what we need—both in this reality and the next. The Bible warns us not to place trust in our money, job, possessions, ourselves, or others.
Stephen Covey
“Simply put, trust means confidence.”
When I trust you, what am I saying?
“In matters affecting my welfare, I believe that you are genuinely concerned about me, and are competent to work diligently for the betterment of my interests.
We have read His Word (the Bible) and have seen His character displayed. We have learned how He is faithful to fulfill His will promises. We've seen God's goodness in our own lives and the lives of others, and since we know His character, we trust that what He does will continue to be for our good and His glory. Or we've seen God's faithfulness through hardship and trust that He will be faithful to us in our next hardship. When we trust Him, we also trust the outcomes we experience with Him. Trust in His Wisdom, trust in His Love. Trust in His promises. He knows what is best for us.
Proverbs 3.5,6: “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.”
Psalms 37.5: “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.”
Why is it hard for us to trust?
Our ability to trust others is connected to the attitudes, biases, and, assumptions we hold, and how we have been shaped by our past experiences. We see things as we are, not as they are. The ability to trust is shaped by life experiences, positive and negative, and can impact relationships. This is why God gives us a new heart and opens our eyes and ears to His truth.
Healthy trust vertically (God) likely optimizes healthy trust horizontally(one another).
Trusting in God will change your life.
What is the impact of Trust?
When trust exists.
People are 15 times more likely to be fully engaged; 42 times more likely to be highly resilient.
Malcolm Gladwell
What happens when there is no Trust?
The absence of trust is costly!
“Trust is the one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization…which if removed, will destroy the most powerful government, the most successful business…the most reflective leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love…That one thing is trust."
Stephen Covey
We are to trust God with all our hearts, committing every aspect of our lives to Him in complete confidence. Finally, we are not to trust in ourselves because our understanding is temporal, finite, and tainted by our sinful natures. Trusting in ourselves is like walking confidently across a rotten wooden bridge over a yawning chasm thousands of feet deep. Disaster inevitably follows.
The man of God knows that, though trials will beset in this life, his trust will not waiver because that trust is based on faith in the promises of God: the promise of eternal joy with the Lord and the promise of an inheritance that “can never perish, spoil and fade.
7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8