Learning to Trust God

This is a summary of Brother Moreno's teaching on Tuesday May 10, 2011.  Click here to listen to the audio version.

Proverbs 22:17-21
17 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
18 For [it is] a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?

There is a difference between faith and trust.  The bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).  Faith is essential for coming to God, but we must be able to move past faith, into trust.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had faith that God would protect them if they obeyed him and did not bow down to idols.  But even when it seemed like they were about to die in a fiery furnace, they still would not disobey him.  They had to "trust" God and in the end, he saved them (Daniel 3).

Job 23:8-10
8 Behold, I go forward, but he [is] not [there]; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold [him]: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see [him]:
10 But he knoweth the way that I take: [when] he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

When things don't seem to go our way or we're facing what we perceive to be a major crisis, that's not the time to lose your trust in God.  He may be trying to make gold out of you.  He knows your path and he will help you, but he's not about to bail you out of a trial that he purposed for your growth.  Keep trusting him, no matter what happens, and in the end you'll be as good as gold.

Remember these important differences between faith and trust:

    * Faith expects things - Trust accepts things
    * Faith reaches - Trust retains
    * Faith rushes - Trust waits
    * Faith is believing - Trust is knowing
    * Faith produces change - Trust submits to unchanged conditions