Learn To Trust

The Israelites witnessed a unique and amazing move of God. He powerfully freed them from slavery. He miraculously parted the Red Sea and destroyed their enemies. He graciously led them with signs through the desert. He supernaturally provided food and water when there was none. He repeatedly defeated those who threatened them. Then the moment came for them to enter into their Promised Land.

He offered them assurance, saying, “See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 1:21).

They didn’t fully trust those words, so they sent spies into the land to check it out. Two of the twelve brought a good report, but the fear of the other ten prevailed. God reminded them of all He had done and promised to be with them again.

“The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place” (v 30-31).

Still, they faltered. “But for all this, you did not trust the Lord your God, who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go” (v 32-33). They never made it to the Promised Land.

This is the lesson we must learn from that ancient clan: They did not learn to trust God in the place of need, so they did not enter into the place of abundance.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines trust as “to believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something is safe and reliable.”

God is extremely patient as we learn to trust Him. He invites us to experience His trustworthiness for ourselves. “O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Psalm 34:8). But to fully experience all that He has for us, we must act on this trust, even in the face of obstacles and fear. Easy circumstances do little to build trust. It best comes through difficulty.

The prophet Isaiah understood the benefits of trust. Through his words, we learn four valuable truths:

First, trust brings salvation.  “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2).

Second, trust brings peace. “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3).

Third, trust brings security. “Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock” (Isaiah 26:4).

Fourth, trust brings strength. “For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, ‘In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength’ (Isaiah 30:15).

King David declared his trust in the Lord. “The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble; And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You” (Psalm 9:9-10).

The prophet Jeremiah put it simply and succinctly: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:7).

Note how he points out that our trust is both in the Lord and is the Lord Himself. We can believe that His word is good because He is good. We can trust His promises because He is true. We can rest in His security because He is safe. We can depend on Him in the best times and the worst times because He is reliable. Learning to trust Him and acting on this trust ushers us into His kingdom.

Whatever your circumstances, affirm your trust in the Lord. Make this psalm your daily declaration: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him” (Psalm 28:7). In doing this, you pave the way for His kingdom to rule and reign in your life every day.