God is Trustworthy!

September 13, 2010

In God We Trust. Do you know where that simple phrase is found? It is found on our country’s money. Even more importantly, our country was founded on that one simple phrase. Above all else, we trust in God to build the United States of America into a great nation.

But, what exactly does it mean to place your full trust in someone or something? Dictionary.com defines trust in many different ways. When we combine all of the different definitions, we get a clearer picture of what trust means.
1. reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
2. confident expectation of something; hope.
3. a person on whom or thing on which one relies.
4. to have trust or confidence in; rely or depend on.
5. to believe.
6. to expect confidently; hope.

In God We Trust means that we rely completely on God because of who He is and what He has done and is doing and will do. We expect Him to follow through because of He is faithful. We hope and believe in God.

God is trustworthy!

Psalm 13
How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
And my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me. (NASB)

David is in the midst of trouble, and he is crying out to God. David’s words seem to sink deeper into a depression of hopelessness and fear. He seems to cry out without any expectation. Yet, David remembers that God is a trustworthy God! He remembers how God has saved Him in the past. He remembers how God has protected Him from his enemies. He remembers how God has defended Him no matter what. And David suddenly is filled with hope because He serves a trustworthy God.

But, what about you and me? Do I believe that I can trust God completely? Can I be open and honest with God about anything that I am struggling with? Do I believe and hope in Him?

When I think of trusting God, I think of the first time I did a trust fall at summer youth camp. If you have ever done a trust fall, you are picturing it yourself right now. For those of you who haven’t experienced a trust fall, I’ll explain. As part of a team building exercise, everyone in my youth group took a turn falling blindly into each other’s arms. I remember climbing up onto the wall and looking back over my shoulder at how far down the ground was beneath me. Then, I watched as my youth group made two lines directly behind me with their arms outstretched in front of them. I was thinking there was no way they could catch me without dropping me. I even felt my knees tremble at first. I turned with my back to everyone. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned backward falling like a board into the hands of my youth group. When I felt my back touch their hands and the feeling of falling stopped, I took a breath of relief.

Just like trusting those behind me to catch me completely, I place my complete trust in God. The amazing thing about placing your trust in God is that you will never be disappointed. Humans fail. They hurt each other. They cause disappointment. But, God is constantly trustworthy and faithful. He will never drop you when you lean back and fall into His arms.

So, if you have never trusted God completely, lean back today and allow His everlasting arms to catch you. Even if you trust God in some areas of your life but not in other areas, release yourself completely to Him. And you will find falling into His trustworthy arms is the most freeing decision you have ever made.