Trust

Trusting God -

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5
The Scriptures are replete with references and admonishments to trust the Lord. Psalms and Proverbs especially abound with the righteous casting their reliance upon God as an example to all of us: Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him (Ps. 2:12); Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord (4:5); [L]et all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice (5:11); O Lord my God, in Thee do I put my trust (7:1); And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for thou, Lord, has not forsaken them that seek Thee (9:10); O Thou that savest by Thy right hand them which put their trust in Thee from those that rise up against them (17:7); As for God... He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him (18:30); The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants: and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate (34:22); Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (37:3); Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass (37:5); It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes (118:8-9); Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help (146:3); The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe (Prov. 29:25). Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him (Prov. 30:5).Since the references to trusting in God are so abundant, might it be that a good portion of our personal tribulation, trials, setbacks, confusion, lack of peace, and misdirection is stemming from a lack of trust in the Lord? The Scriptures tell us that it is far better to trust in the Lord than to rely upon anything else. We cannot trust in ourselves. We cannot put our trust in man; and we certainly cannot rely upon our own understanding. In all our ways we must acknowledge Him, and He shall bring things to pass as well as direct our paths.For our study, we will focus on the relying upon our own understanding. In the modern era of American material comfort, this is our more likely stumbling block. Our tendency is to lean upon our own understanding, and this temptation is perfectly reasonable to "rational" man.Everything we encounter in life appears to operate and function by some kind of law or system. We have absolute confidence that the lights will turn on when we flip the switch; that our clock radios will awaken us; that our cars will start; that other people will try to be as considerate as we are; that Winter will follow Fall; that our hearts will beat; our eyes blink; and that everything eventually goes on sale! In short, life appears routine and regulated in every aspect. We only get bent out of shape when those natural processes are interrupted.It's very easy to lose sight of the absolute control of God in all things when the world appears to operate automatically. This was Israel's danger when they entered the Promised Land. God warned them that after they labored hard to build houses, plant vineyards, and harvest the land, they would say to themselves: "My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth" (Deut. 8:17). Since their provision would no longer be falling out of the sky like the manna they would be tempted to think their provision came only by the sweat of their brow.But God was clear to Israel in stating the true source of all that they would inherit: "[T]hou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth" (Deut. 8:18). The Hebrew word for power being used here is kowach and it means force, vigor, or capacity to produce. Our ability to produce anything; whether it be cars, food, highways, houses, families, wealth, art, etc., is all derivative of God Himself. It is in Him that we live, move, and have our being (Acts. 17:28).If we were honest with ourselves, we would admit that we are very much like the Israelites who forgot the source of their wealth. It's not that we cease to love God, or lost our desire to serve Him. It's that we still accept a very "natural" way of looking at the world. We still assume a very natural order that seems to operate outside of God. We therefore tend to pray more when the natural order stops operating according to our liking. When the system breaks down, we feel we need God to do something "super-natural", i.e. God has to step in to help out the natural order.However, the world does not work that way. In fact, the Biblical writers provide us a much different picture of the way the world works:
He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate -- bringing forth food from the earth: These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. Ps. 104:10-14, 27-30
What appears to be as natural as springs flowing or grass growing is really the power of God sustaining all of creation. This is the heart of why the Scriptures encourage us to trust the Lord. If there is no "natural order" per se, wouldn't it be wrong to trust in it? If the natural world is directly controlled and sustained by God, wouldn't it be proper to trust in Him?This is also why you cannot lean upon man, princes, or your own understanding. Not yourself, not other people or leaders, nor anything else can possibly sustain us since they themselves are sustained by God. All things work together for His good purpose (Rom. 8:28), and He works all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11). Nothing under heaven can stand on its own. Even gravity and every other so-called "law of nature" is simply the consistent way that God operates the world. To think otherwise is to move toward deism, i.e. the belief in the existence of a supreme being who does not intervene in the universe.Living a life of trust in God requires a simple practicality. First, it begins with viewing the world Biblically. We have to embrace the Scriptural testimony -- despite the way things appear -- that the world does not run on its own steam, but is sustained in all ways by God's active will. Second, we must train ourselves to "dis-trust" our own understanding. If you want to doubt something, doubt your own interpretation of your circumstances. This does not mean we turn our minds off. We need our "understanding" to do everything from a math problem to cooking dinner. The understanding we don't lean upon is our tendency to view the world unbiblically.Lastly, we must learn to stay our minds upon God. This is the ultimate expression of trust:
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. (Isaiah 26:3-4)
By staying our minds upon the Lord we are taking them off ourselves, our circumstances, and the natural order. Isaiah said to trust the lord "forever." The obvious meaning here is that trusting God is an eternal practice, and one that we should get used to sooner rather than later.Things You Can Do:

1. Ask God to teach you about trusting Him.
2. Start viewing the world as "un-natural" -- meaning "God-controlled." You can do this by reading and meditating on chapters like Psalm 104.
3. Start training your mind to stay upon God. The more you're thinking about God, the less you're thinking about your circumstances. Again, this is the greatest expression of our personal trust in God.


God Bless,
Bug