What is the most important part of a house? The foundation. If it’s not built correctly, the house will suffer. Our faith is like a house which needs a firm foundation. We will be discussing Principles for Building Trust in God.
Points to discuss:
- What does the Bible say about building trust in God?
- What are the principles for trusting God?
- Trusting God in all circumstances.
- Benefits of trusting God
What does the Bible say about building trust in God?
Psalm 127:1 NIV "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain."
Building trust on our own righteousness, church, or family is the wrong foundation. Unless its built on Jesus Christ, the house will fall apart.
Romans 10:9 NIV "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
What are the principles for trusting God?
1. Don’t trust opinion. Not yours or anyone else’s. Always go to God’s Word to see what He has to say. Our opinions can be influenced by the world.
Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;"
bibleref.com “Solomon offers sound advice for life. Human understanding is always subject to error. What appears to be the right choice may be the wrong choice. But the Lord sees the big picture and He always knows what is best for us. The point here is not to be mindless or naïve. Rather, we need to recognize our own limitations.”
2. Fully commit every part of your life to the Lord.
Psalm 37:5 "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun."
If we’re not careful, we can pick certain areas of our life where we want God and leave other areas out.
In marriage, if we don’t commit completely to that person, will the marriage work? Not very likely. We need to bond to our mate to build the relationship.
It’s the same with the Lord. Half a relationship is not a relationship. Commit to Him completely to build your trust.
3. Do not conform to the world.
Romans 12:2 NIV "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
We are in the world, so it can be difficult to ignore everything that we hear, see and sometimes accept. The Lord wants us to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. That’s why we read His Word. It’s powerful and can change our lives.
Then we are able to discern better His will. We can make better choices with the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
4. We walk by faith.
2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV "For we live by faith, not by sight."
“I won’t believe it till I see it!!” We’ve all said that. If that is our attitude, then our trust is non-existent.
Hebrews 11:1 NIV "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."
Trust or faith in God is not dependent on what we see. This verse tells us our confidence is in God and He assures us that our hope is real in Jesus Christ. If we can trust Him with our souls then we should be able to trust Him with everything else. Faith is empty without trust.
5. Do not Doubt.
James 1:6 NIV “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
Here is an important element of trust. There are times when our prayers are not answered like we want because we didn’t trust that He would do it. For whatever reason, doubt crept in and made our trust waver.
At other times, we didn’t have enough trust to even ask. We assumed He would say “No”. We wonder why God doesn’t respond like we want. We are fickle humans because we don’t trust enough.
6. Don’t be impatient.
Psalm 27:14 NIV “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
bibleref.com ”Regardless of the exact aim of this phrase, the admonition is good for everyone who wants to do the Lord’s will. God’s timetable may differ from ours. We tend to want an immediate answer to our prayers, but the Lord is never in a rush. He may not answer us immediately, but He has promised to answer, “in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Waiting on the Lord draws us close to Him and teaches us to be patient.”
Patient is not my natural trait. I have to pray and trust the Lord to help me. It is a fruit of the Spirit and when we are depending on the Lord it can shine through. Hard as it can be, it is a trait that is very important in our requests to God.
Trusting God in All Circumstances.
Psalm 62:8 NIV "Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."
Trusting God is the same every time we need Him. It may feel different at times because we need every ounce we can muster. I used the word “feel” here. Remember, we trust in God because He has proven to be reliable. We always go to what we know about God and not how we are feeling emotionally at the moment. God is bigger and stronger than any feeling we can have. Trust Him.
Benefits of trusting God
1.We have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16 NIV "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Do you ever think about the enormity of this promise? As humans with limited life spans, the hope of eternal life is life-giving in itself. The drudgery of this world would be too much to bear without this benefit from God, our Savior.
2. We have the help of the Holy Spirit
John 14:26 NIV "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
Jesus not only died for us but when He left, sent us a helper. We cannot do anything for the Lord without the Holy Spirit’s help.
3.We have the gift of His Word
Hebrews 4:12 NIV "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
Not only did He give us His Word, but gave us a tool that is alive and penetrates our souls and minds. Reading it works miracles in our lives.
4. God Knows what is best
Romans 8:28 NIV "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Of all the counselors we can choose, the Lord is the only one who knows everything. He is there only for our good.
The hard part is to realize that “all things God works for the good of those who love Him”. That is both good and bad that happens to us. Jesus told us in John 16:33 that we will have trouble, so did He. Trials are part of life on earth.
The good and easy part is that the Lord is here for us in those trials. He overcame the world and we can too. He promises to comfort and strengthen us in difficult situations.
5. He will guide us.
Proverbs 3:6 "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
When we acknowledge who God is, the master of the universe and all creation, He is there to guide our journey and make it the best it can be. This benefit is only for those who trust in Him.
6. Gives us gifts of peace, joy and hope.
Romans 15:13 NIV "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
By His gift of the Holy Spirit we are blessed with an overflowing hope. This hope brings peace and joy to our lives.
Conclusion
Trust begins with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior. Each step of trust builds upon that foundation and slowly the house of trust begins to become stronger.
As the winds of life begin to flow across the house, the Lord helps us trust Him more. We experience what life is like with Him and realize we don’t want it any other way. Of course it’s God’s strength that moves the building of trust forward
Leave a Reply