DOUBT OR TRUST

We are told to trust God. Trust and do not doubt.

Sounds like an easy enough thing to do, doesn’t it? When you confide to someone that you’re worried about something, they might say to you, “Don’t worry. Just trust God.” I tell myself, “Jean, don’t worry—just trust God.” And I’ll even say it out loud to God: “Lord, I trust you.”

So why, then, is it sometimes still so hard to trust God? How can I make my “trust muscle” more robust?

To trust God, you must know Him.

You can’t trust someone you don’t know, so the first key to trusting God is to know Him. And the best way to get to know Him is to read the Bible, the Holy Word of God. The Bible has been described as God’s love letter to us. He tells us who He is by showing us His attributes.

He is holy, loving, perfect, wise, gracious, merciful, forgiving, faithful, almighty, our healer, our provider, all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, trustworthy, infinite, patient, kind, good, gentle, righteous, joyous, peaceful, temperate, and extravagant, among many other attributes.

These characteristics don’t just describe God.  He embodies all these things!

Another way of knowing God is by experiencing Him.

That would be in the Biblical sense of knowing someone, as in “The Virgin Mary conceived a child even though she had not yet known a man.” It is an intimate experience that reveals the heart of God.

This type of experience can come through prayer, worship, and reading the Bible. When you focus all your mind and heart on God in prayer, during worship, or as you read the Bible, He powerfully comes to you, speaking directly to your mind and spirit. You fully sense the holiness and specialness of His presence. Your senses are impacted by this sweet communion with Him as He draws you more deeply into the knowledge of who He is. This type of knowing, combined with understanding who He is from the Bible, is the goal of all believers.

Do I know God in this way?

Why yes, I do! So then, where do my doubts come from? They come from the enemy of my soul, the devil, who finds a foothold for my doubts when I am tired, not feeling well, or when I am afraid. He is sneaky and sly and never misses an opportunity to discourage me. He is referred to in the Bible as the Lord of the Flies, and you know how pesky and persistent flies are in bothering you!

If he sees I am ripe for falling into discouragement, he is right there to fan that into full flame.

If I’m feeling too puny to fight back, I fall into self-pity mode and grow more discouraged. But as my knowledge of God grows more substantial, time spent in self-pity diminishes, and I can quickly look to God to lift me up and out of myself and into His presence.

Look to past experiences or stories about God to encourage and strengthen your trust when it wavers.

There’s a story I like to recall about God’s faithfulness. I’ve been told this is true.

A church needed funds to meet a pledge they had made to the missionaries they were supporting overseas. The amount was large, and recent giving had been very low. They were afraid they would fail to meet their obligation. The leadership team was meeting in the church office to discuss the situation, and they went into a time of prayer. One of the leaders prayed, “Lord, the Bible tells us you own the cattle on a thousand hills. Could you maybe sell one or two of them to help us meet our obligation?”

Meanwhile, a man was visiting this town who happened to be driving down the street the church was on. As he passed the church, he felt a strong impression from the Lord that he was to stop at that church and go into the office. He did just that, and when the church secretary asked how she could help him, he answered, “Ma’am, I’ve been in your town the last few days attending a cattle auction. I’m on my way to the airport now to return home, and I felt the Lord telling me to stop here and give you this check. It’s for the cattle I just sold at the auction.” The church secretary jumped up and immediately took the check to the leadership team. The amount was more than sufficient for them to meet the pledge they had made to the missionaries!

God is faithful.

God is faithful. He is entirely trustworthy. He will never fail you, even when things look bad, and you have your doubts.

My post next Wednesday will be about how my trust in God’s faithfulness was tested when my husband and I were scammed recently and lost all our savings. See you then!