Living Out Trust
Trusting another person often makes a bold statement about your trust in God, a statement saying you choose obedience over trying to protect yourself. Because we have a 100% reliable source of trust, we know the answer to the question “Where Should You Place Your Trust?” So, we move forward in relationships with others who will let us down because we remain confident God never will.
Showing Trust in God
The best place to start living out trust that is rooted and grounded in God is through tangible expressions of that trust. In other words, living out trust comes through practical expressions and actions that show God exists as our source of trust and confidence. That happens through:
- Praise and worship (Psalm 4:5; Psalm 28:7; Psalm 64:10; Daniel 3:28)
- Persevering in faith (Jeremiah 51:46-47; 2 Thessalonians 1:4; Hebrews 10:35-36; Hebrews 12:2-3; James 1:12; James 5:11)
- Holding on to God’s promises (1 Kings 8:56-57; Psalm 130:5; Acts 26:7; Romans 4:20-21; Colossians 1:5)
- Following examples of trusting God (Luke 23:46; 2 Kings 18:5-7; Ruth 2:12; Daniel 3:17; Daniel 6:23; Acts 14:23)
Actively showing trust in God opens us up to living out trust by trusting others because we know our trust lies rooted in Him, not them. That doesn’t mean trusting in others is easy. It’s especially not when a wound from hurt is fresh or when it festers from long-term infection or when we know other wounds are forthcoming.
People and Trust
People will break my trust again. Ultimately, that doesn’t matter though because they can never take away what truly matters, that which only comes from God.
The most important thing I have to lose – my salvation – can’t be lost. So, it’s not important as much whether others are trustworthy as it is whether or not I’m living a life that truly trusts in the only one who is trustworthy. That’s the root of living out trust.
Showing Where Trust Lies
We can show our trust in a variety of ways. Most importantly, that means showing where we place our trust and giving glory to God by doing so. That happens when we:
- Choose to trust people knowing they’ll let you down. Do this knowing and proclaiming that God can and will make good out of it. Declare that he rights wrongs. (Luke 18:7)
- Build relationships and strive for unity even amidst continually broken trust. If for no other reason, do it out of obedience to the one who is completely trustworthy. (Ephesians 2:21-22)
- Look at your expectations and adjust or maybe even eliminate them. Do your part to live at peace with others. That involves not setting them up for failure. (Romans 12:18)
- Don’t mistake people letting you down for God letting you down. Don’t blame God for people breaking your trust. Choose to follow God’s will regardless of what others do or don’t do. (Joshua 24:15)
Living out trust means choosing to continue trusting others even amidst hurt and betrayal. It means working to build trust and doing your part to live peacefully with others even when you know they’ll let you down. You can do this because God is bigger than and can heal the hurt from any broken trust.
marymccauley
The first thing I think about is my marriage. I trust my husband. I can honestly say that for the first time in my married life I feel that way, and this is my 3rd husband. The choices we make are not always good ones, and both other men proved themselves untrustworthy. It took a lot for me to trust again. I had to learn to depend on God by living alone for almost 3 yrs and having God be my husband before I was ready to trust an earthly husband. I will admit there are still times I struggle to trust God and my husband, but that I think is part of growth. Recognizing when lies are leading you down the wrong path and choosing to seek God, to praise God, and to remember all His faithfulness with a grateful heart._I feel God has been speaking to me about trust a lot this year. thanks for the postings!
Kari Scare
Trust is definitely a process. As we learn more about the trustworthiness of God, we become more secure and able to better love in our earthly relationships. Sounds like you really get that. Thanks, Mary.
tc Avey
I thought of two things as I read this:
first, I thought of trusting God with my finances. Giving my tithe (and anything else God tells me too) even if I'm uncertain how to pay my bills. I've seen God bless me and others when we trust Him to provide for our needs.
Second, I thought of a friend of mine who recently said her husband won't go to any church because the last one they went to treated them badly. That's sad because people (and churches) will let us down. But God won't. We can't turn our backs on God simply because some of His children don't represent Him correctly. This is something I've had to remind myself of more than a few times. Satan does a great job at dividing us and confusing the issues.
Kari Scare
Both are good examples of living trust. It's so sad when people don't return to church because of being hurt by church people. Been praying a lot for unity in the body that will flow out and influence the culture around it.
tc Avey
Unity has been on my heart too. I have a few posts I'm working on discussing this. And this past sunday our pastor spoke on it. I can't wait to add some of his thoughts to my post, they were so powerful!
I think God is speaking about this to many of His children. I think it saddens Him that we are so divided. Satan has been doing a great job at distracting us from being Kingdom minded because we are so busy fighting ourselves.
Kari Scare
The topic is definitely on my heart too, TC. I am working on at least one post focusing specifically on unity for next week. The more I study Scripture, the more obvious the theme of unity becomes. Disunity steals our focus off of Him and puts it on ourselves, plain and simple. Disunity is a result of selfishness. Painful to admit, but true. Time for us to step up and start promoting unity both in our words and through our actions.
How to Build Trust -
[…] How Do We Live Out Trust? […]
Building & Establishing Trust -
[…] ← Previous Next → […]