Trust refers to the belief and confidence in someone on something’s ability. We put our trust in many things such as institutions, money, possessions government entities, people and more.
However, the word of God is clear that we need to put our trust in God. Putting trust in God only comes through a deep knowledge of His nature, character and abilities.
Trusting in God can be compared to keeping money in a bank. When we deposit our funds, we trust the bank can secure them. Money holds significant value in many people’s lives, and banks keep their funds safe and secured.
When selecting a bank to keep our funds, we evaluate the bank’s reputation, market penetration, profitability and more. Other indicators include the bank’s ability to weather financial challenges. Additionally, a bank’s asset portfolio indicates that numerous individuals have entrusted their finances to the institution.
Like money, our lives hold significant value to ourselves. We avoid danger, protect ourselves, take care of our health amongst many other thanks because we highly value and cherish our lives.
Therefore, if we consider our lives invaluable, this raises the question: who or what should we entrust our lives to?
1. Trust In God
Trust in the LORD with all your heart (Proverbs 3:5).
Trusting God with our lives works in a similar manner as trusting a bank with our funds. To fully trust in God, we need to know and understand His nature and character so that we may entrust Him with our dear lives.
2. What Is The Nature of God?
The nature and character of God is revealed all throughout the bible. I find the best summary of His nature expressed in 103rd chapter of the book of Psalms which lists of God’s attributes. God is:
- Forgiving
- Healing
- Redeeming
- The giver of good things
- The restorer, revitalizer and renews our life
- The giver of righteousness and justice
- Tender and compassionate
- Merciful
- Slow to anger
- Loving – His love remains forever
- The remover of all our sins
- The granter of our salvation.
Scripture is filled with men and women who encountered God and experienced His wonderful nature. We too can do the same, for God never changes.
A deep relationship with God leads us to experience His nature. His character remain unchanged from one generation to another. Additionally His principles, laws and promises written in the bible will never change for God is faithful.
My arch reason for trusting in God is that nothing dies in His presence, He is full of life and power. And since God is within me, my life will never perish because the power of God is at work in me. 1 Peter 1:21 confirms this truth as follows:
Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
3. How To Start Trusting In God
Jesus began his ministry by teaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God. Preaching the Good News is fundamental in trusting in God because faith [and trust in God] comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).
It’s impossible to trust in God lest we’ve been taught about God or read about Him from His word.
Referring back to the bank example, we typically place our money in financial institutions yet we may not know the back end systems they use, their operational procedures, and how they utilize our deposits. But we trust them because they have a good track record of keeping money securely.
Similarly, God has given us promises and truths we can completely rely on, because God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). He guarantees us eternal life if we believe in His Son Jesus.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Believing in Jesus means following and living according to God’s laws and principles, which is the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Based on the analogy demonstrated in the bank example, we can give our lives and hearts to God knowing that He will preserve them until eternity. Jesus in Matthew 10:39 says, “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it”.
This may seem like a paradox, how does one gain something by giving it up? This is a spiritual law of the Kingdom of God that is prevalent throughout the bible.
One person gives freely, yet gains even more (Proverbs 11:24).
Examples of this spiritual law include the following:
- Jesus gave up His life, then he gained the lives of men.
- Abraham gave up his only son, Isaac, at the alter and his descendants became as numerous as the starts in the sky (Genesis 26:4).
- The widow at Zarapheth gave her last meal to prophet Elijah and supernaturally there was enough food every day for her and her family (1 Kings 17:15).
Ephesians 1:13 reads, “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.”
The above scripture reveal that trusting in God begins by hearing the Gospel about the Good News. Thereafter we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of our lives. We then receive the Holy Spirit of God which confirms that we are children of God – filled with the nature and essence of God.
The more we know more about God by reading the word, engaging in prayer, the more we deepen our faith and trust in Him.
4. Trusting God With Our Lives
We can trust in God with our life because He is the Source of Life. When He created man, the bible records that Adam was formed from the dust of the ground. This meant his physical nature was born from the elements of the earth.
Adam only became a living being after God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils (Genesis 2:7). This marked the beginning of his spiritual life – a life filled with the Spirit of God.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they continued living in a physical sense, but the Spirit of God was no longer within them. They were dead spiritually yet alive physically.
After Christ crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit has been poured upon us. We have the Spirit of God which gives us spiritual life. This spiritual life begins when we become born again and runs until eternity (John 3:16).
Therefore, our lives come from God, exist by His power, and should bring Him glory.
5. Final Thoughts
God understands that our lives are precious possessions (even though we don’t own them per se since God gives life and breath to everything). But he gave us a will to choose to give our lives to Him by believing in His Son, Jesus.
When we choose which bank to save our money into, we do this with the anticipation that our money will be safe, and will accrue in interest.
Likewise when we give our live to God, we are guaranteed eternal life. The interest we accrue by giving our lives include experiencing the nature of God who gives eternal life, forgives our sins, give good gifts and more.
Finally, trusting in God comes from the knowledge that He is the giver of life. In John 5:28, Jesus said, “The Father has life in himself, and He has given the same life-giving power to his Son”.
Therefore , when we believe in Jesus as the Son of God, we are guaranteed an eternal spiritual life with God.
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