Trusting God | Northstar Church

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” – Proverbs 3-5-6..

Trust has to be complete. You either trust someone or you don’t. You can’t kind of trust somebody. If you say you trust someone, you trust them with everything. So when it comes to trusting in God, it means you trust Him, without a doubt, without question, with infinite confidence. It sounds easy. It isn’t.

Even Jesus’ closest friends proved that trusting God is not that easy. In John 13-14, Jesus tells His disciples that He will be leaving them soon and that they won’t be able to follow Him. This bothers all of them and Chapter 14 is basically a back and forth between Jesus and the disciples. In the end, Jesus’s response to their concerns boils down to John 14:1, “Trust in God, and trust also in me.” We can trust God, especially when life is hard.

In the third chapter of the Book of Daniel we find the story of three men who are unwilling to turn their backs on God by bowing down to the golden statue of the reigning King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Of course this enrages the king who orders them to be thrown into a fiery furnace. Not only are they willing to face death rather than deny their faith in God, but they tell the king in no uncertain terms.

“… O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

That is trust. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trusted God whether or not He was willing to intervene and prevent their suffering. The three Israelites were willing to give up their very lives to prove without a doubt their own level of trust in God. Do we have that level of trust in God? Do you trust in God even when He doesn’t give you the answer you desire?

Whether the unexpected in your life right now is a jolting circumstance at work, a relationship that is not where you want it to be or health issues, trust God. “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

Discussion Questions:

Which aspect of your life do you struggle most when it comes to trusting God? How can you address that area this week?