*This post is a guest post written by one of my sister-in-Christ and best friends, Pat. Thank you, Pat, for sharing with us your heart and perspective. How to trust God with all our hearts is such an important lesson that we all need. I hope that everyone that reads it will be blessed by it as it has been for me.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the meaning of “trust” is defined as “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something, in the one in which confidence is placed”. At times, I wonder what it would look like if Trust was a person. But looking back on my own journey with God these past years, I would define trust as more of an action. This action takes place between me and the One who never let go of my hands, no matter how much I want to let go of His. That is whether things don’t go as planned or how I thought they would be.
How To Trust God With All Your Heart
Growing up, I was very close to my dad. I couldn’t have a clearer picture of how I
can place trust in someone who loves and treats me like a princess the way my dad has. He always came through for me in everything I asked and many times, without me having to ask at all.
But even my sweetest dad is just another human being and with limited abilities. I wouldn’t be able to rely on his character, ability, and strength the way I can with our Good Heavenly Father. That made me realize how important it is for us to pause and meditate on how we can increase our trust in Him more and more. Because the way we trust our heavenly Father must be deeper and much more meaningful than the way we can trust anyone else, including our loved ones.
This verse from Proverbs came to mind as I spent some time pondering on the meaning of trust.
Trust in the Lord with All your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” - Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
In these verses, there are two words specifically that I find so difficult to turn into actions: the word “all” and “own”.
Trusting God With “All”
The word “all” is actually found twice in these two verses. The first “all” lies under “all your heart”, which means every detail and every part of my fiber being. All means all my hopes, my dreams, and my deepest desires. How can I trust someone with all of that? What if the details of my life are too complicated for Him? What if He missed any of them? The question can go on endlessly for me.
The second “all” says “in all of your ways acknowledge Him”. I find this one even more difficult because I find myself asking how can I submit every area of my life to Him? Again, what if He is not able to deliver? While you or I may not know the perfect answer to these questions, we can hold on to the most important foundation where Trust is established, knowing God’s character.
God’s unchanging character is the anchor that has got me through so many of life’s storms. Even now whilst writing this post, I see so many uncertainties waiting for me that I wonder how am I going to trust Him in “all” of the details. I want to know every single one of them and many times, I even try to “help” my Heavenly Father with how I think my life should look like. But I’m reminded of His character and He says,
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. - Luke 12:7 (NIV)
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! - Matthew 7:11 (NASB1995)
Not Leaning On Our “Own” Understanding
The next word that hit me was “own” in not leaning on your own understanding. All of us have our own understanding as we go through each of our life’s journeys and experiences. But when we rely on our own understanding, we are limited by the way we see things and what we have been exposed to before. Our sight is, therefore, limited as human beings. But for our Father, He says clearly in His word,
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55: 8-9 (NIV)
And that is why we should not rely on our own way or our own understanding. Instead, how we trust God is acknowledging Him in all our ways to keep our path straight.
Let Us Pray
Heavenly Father, Thank You for the privilege to know You more deeply every day so that we can trust Your unchanging characters and nature along our journey. Remind us constantly of how good and faithful You are in “all” of the details in our lives, and not to rely on our “own” ways and understanding. We look forward to giving praises to You when looking back and see how good You are, once again. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Recommendation
Knowing God starts with knowing His Word. If you don’t already own a Bible, there are many churches that give one for free. You can also download a YouVersion Bible App. Or if you’d like a physical copy, it can easily be found on amazon.