“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.” (Psalm 37:5, ESV).
What does the word trust really mean? What do you trust in? Who do you trust? And what does your behavior show about your trust—in people and in things? A quick Google search turns up this definition of trust: “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; one in which confidence is placed.” Hmm … does that describe your trust in God? Do you have an assured reliance in his character, his ability, his strength? Do you have confidence in him? It’s something to think about, isn’t it?
When we accept the salvation of Jesus Christ, it is the first step in becoming the kind of Converterlator God wants us to be. We begin a journey where life takes on a whole new perspective as we learn what the Bible has to tell us about God and his plan for our lives. Our view of life and our view of this world begin to change as the Spirit of God enlightens us through his Word about this temporary, perishing world and eternity to come. As a result, our goals and motivation for living totally change.
We live in a world where so much is really beyond our control. Variables beyond count impact our lives in ways we would not think possible. If we are to maintain a sense of balance, contentment, and peace in our lives, we must learn to trust in God and his provision for us. This is not an easy concept to grasp, and sometimes it is even more difficult to see “trusting in God” actually working in our lives as we meet the challenges of everyday living. But he is there, guiding and directing our lives. The Bible tells us, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV). We have confidence and assurance that we can trust in him!
The decision to believe in the person of Jesus Christ, alone, for personal salvation is by far the most important life-impacting decision a person will ever make. But our decision to believe is only the beginning. As we learn more about God, we learn to trust him more, to have confidence in his character, to rely on his ability and strength.
We exercise our trust every day: in the news reporter, in the engineer who worked on our mode of transportation, in the places where we purchase our food. We make our decisions based on an intrinsic belief that things and people are trustworthy.
Here is a real-life example. In today’s world tall buildings have elevators. We enter the building planning to meet someone on the thirtieth floor. To reach that floor we need to enter an elevator, push a button, and wait while a power surge propels the elevator upward to the thirtieth floor. Think for a moment what this process involves. We believe the elevator has the capacity to lift us to the thirtieth floor, and that it will not crash downward. We step on by an act of our will. We have faith, trust, confidence, and conviction that it will work. When we push the button, we trust that the elevator is wired into a source of power that will propel it upward. We now enjoy the benefit of what it is supposed to do.
When it comes to our living relationship with Christ, we engage the same steps. By an act of our will, we push the button of faith. We walk through life, with an expectation of seeing God perform his good work toward us, for our expectation is from him. We have confidence in his promises to work in our lives.
What needs to happen in your life in order for you to develop an assured trust in the character, ability, strength, and truth of God?
Converterlators trust in God and his provision.