Christship - Trust in God or have Faith in God

 

Trust in God or Have Faith in God

Proverbs 3:5 | Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding.

 Welcome to the 3^rd week on the Lentin season and to my 2^nd Christship blog and today I have an interesting and also the most debatable topic; Trust in God or Have Faith in God.

 Let’s first explore trust a bit before we head to the topic. There are many interpretations / meanings of trust, but my favorite one is ‘trust is having faith when it would be easy to feel faithless. It is believing, the unbelievable and knowing the unknown’. I can’t remember where I read this, but I think this is probably one of the best definitions you can find, even if you google that resonates with what Paul wrote about faith in Hebrews 11:1 | Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. The commonality is undisputed however there is a difference, a slight one. While many can argue or debate by saying that we use the word Trust mostly in relationships with a person and faith is more spiritual, as in relationship with God.

 What if I say, they go hand in hand and without one, the other is meaningless? Would you believe me? I got you thinking right!

 Let’s see John 14:2 | “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” Why do you think Jesus said this? One may say, Jesus was both the Lord, son of God and was also in human form. Well, that is correct however if we look more closely, we also see that Jesus beautifully tried to explain that if we cannot trust, our faith is meaningless. When some of his disciples kept questioning him or asking him to show the Father, in the same chapter verse 10-12, we see that Jesus is also asking his disciples to believe in him as ‘He is in the Father and the Father is in him’. If so, then why is it hard for us to believe and that’s probably because we as humans from the time of evolution have trust issues. One cannot say when it all began however I think it began when the serpent deceived the man and the woman. The woman ate the fruit not only because she desired it, but also because she trusted the serpent or in what the serpent said, ‘you will surely not die.’ Since then, we see so many incidents in the bible relating to trust issues. Right from Adam and Eve to Abraham, Sarah, Moses, David, Elijah, John the Baptist, and the list goes on who did not trust Jesus or God at some point of time. This may be shocking to some however that is the truth, in Numbers 20:12, you can see how Moses did not trust God. In Matthew 11:3 and Luke 7:19, John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus to ask Him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

 So, trust is not something that is unique only to you but something that is been there right from the beginning and will be there till the end and basically, it’s the filter that God will use to separate his from the rest. And the next time when you have this question, ‘why this is happening to me or why would someone break my trust or why someone would not trust you’, please know its not you but the way we humans are programmed.

 Here is a question for you readers: has it ever occurred to you that it’s your own thoughts that could complicate situations than the issue itself? You don't have to answer that, however, continue reading the below section which will help you find answers!

 Beauty lies in the eyes of the Beholder, so is Trust. It’s the way we want to see, feel, perceive, and believe. When something happens opposite of our expectation, it not only creates a disbelief, it makes us lose trust in God and what He can do for us. And this is where faith comes in, as trust & faith are like the awesome twins. If you don’t believe or have faith in what God can do for you, you cannot trust God or Jesus no matter what happens. So then how do we keep the faith while building the trust as one without the other is like a house without windows which is dark, no air and can suffocate you. So as a first step we need to we gain faith before we build our trust in God and best answer is in Romans 10:17 | So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

 If we don’t spend time reading the word of Christ and continue to listen to people, we will get nowhere but even more confused. Reading the scripture will not only help us to gain knowledge or wisdom as mentioned in Proverbs chapters, but it also gives us the measuring stick by which we can distinguish truth from error. It teaches us to live a Godly life less of sins and more of love, kindness, forgiving and most of all humility. It helps us know how to be saved from our sin and its ultimate consequence (2 Timothy 3:15). Meditating on God’s Word and obeying its teachings will bring success in life (Joshua 1:8; James 1:25). It gives us guidance in life, making us wiser than our teachers (Psalm 32:8, 119:99; Proverbs 1:6). The Bible keeps us from wasting years of our lives on that which does not matter and will not last (Matthew 7:24-27).

 This is the juncture in our life when we need to seek God deeply, trust in what He can do us for while having the faith in what He has already promised us. Hebrews 11:1 | Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Be assured that He who began a good work in you will not let you suffer more than you can endure. Therefore, trust God completely with your life and take refuge in him (Psalm 118:9). Also have faith for it is written without faith it’s impossible to please God (Hebrews11:6). Never forget that He loves us so much that He gave his only son to die for our sins, and all we have to do is accept His gift in faith.

 Lastly, remember trust is a choice and faith is a commitment.