Tag: Trust

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Are You Learning To Trust?

Are You Learning How To Trust? Loving God, part XXVI

I love getting feedback, thank you! But there is one thing that I desire more than just knowing that people are reading these messages, and that is knowing that they are reading the Word. If you are a regular reader of God’s Word, would you let me know? I’d love to hear from you.

What is your greatest concern? We all have our fears, concerns, and worries at times. Life is difficult. Who can we count on? Who is truly reliable? Is there anything certain in life? Friends disappoint us, jobs dry up, and bad news comes in all forms. When I have these anxieties, and I have many, I recall this verse:

Philippians 4: 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Don’t worry about anything!

It’s not some magical “hocus pocus” about this verse that takes all anxiety away, but it is the belief and trust in God as I recite this and then pray for whatever situation and ask Him for what I need. This is where the action is. The ability to trust in God does not happen automatically, it is developed over time like developing your muscle tone at the gym:

1 Corinthians 9: 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.

If we can only develop the habit of trusting in Him, then He becomes our place of safety, and this pleases Him:

Psalm 62: 8 O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.

Psalm 91: 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.

How can we learn to trust Him?

If we are either moving closer to God or away from God, this correlates to how we trust in Him. I think it is safe to say that the closer we are to Him the more we know that we can trust in Him. How do we trust anybody? By getting to know them. Look at what happened to the Israelites that led them to be exiled:

Hosea 4: 6 My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.

Jesus addressed this very issue:

John 8: 19 “Where is your father?” they asked.
Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”

As a reminder, who is Jesus?

John 1: 1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God.

If we know the Word, we know God?

I say yes, with one qualifying statement, and this is hard to describe. There is a difference between reading the Word for content and reading the Word with the expectation of hearing God speak. This is why the prayer “Lord, please reveal yourself to me as I read your Word.” is so effective when we mean it. That being said, don’t skim the text just to get through it, read the Word as if to devour it, take it all in and chew on every sentence. Read as if your life depends on the grade for comprehension because it does!

Isaiah 55: “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.

Which is on par with this:

Jeremiah 29: 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

I am convinced that if we take this message seriously, we will develop a faith that is so strong that nothing will shake us.

Psalm 1: 1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

Did you comprehend that? That’s a pretty good promise.

Reading His Word day and night has dramatically changed my life. I’ve taken this seriously. God is teaching me many things and my faith is stronger than it ever has been. I’m seeing God’s presence in my life. He is answering my prayers and rescuing me when I call on His name. He’s also given me the best friendships and relationships that I’ve ever had. I know that He has a purpose for me and that makes me feel significant. He’s chosen me to partner with Him, just as He has chosen you:

For all who are reading this, God is speaking to you:

John 15: 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

Isn’t it about time you get to know the One who appointed you?

“Dear Lord, I long to know you. The more I know you, the more you will change my heart which will lead me to trust in you and rely on you. For nothing on this earth compares to your everlasting love and mercy. You alone are my God. You are the One I will trust in. Thank you, Jesus, for loving me and leading me into all truth. In Jesus name, Amen.”

Photo by Karan Varshnei on Unsplash



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If you desire a closer walk with Jesus, just want more fellowship or "Bible Time" come join us at TheBibleTeam.com. We have weekly calls where our sole focus is spending time in God's Word.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Do You Trust Him? part 2

Do You Trust Him? part 2, Loving God, part 2

In my last post, “Do You Trust Him, part 1”, we discussed the relationship between love and trust: “God is teaching me that the greater my love is for Him, the more I will trust Him.”

Psalm 40: 4 Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols.

This makes me think about who I am trusting. Am I trusting my clients to pay me or call me for work? Or trusting friends to fulfill my needs?  Or maybe I’m trusting the economy or the government? God forbid I trust in myself to finish the work He’s given me.

Do you have a lot of work that needs to be done? Check this out:

1 Chronicles 28: 20 Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly.

Our God is faithful

Call me crazy, but I think we can apply this verse to our own lives, nearly 3,000 years later. Think of it this way, God gave King Solomon the job of building the temple. That was the work God gave him to do. If God is with us today and we serve Him in whatever capacity He gave us, from cleaning toilets to mending broken limbs, you better believe that it is important to Him. “He will see to it that all the work … is finished correctly.” After all, if He’s given you the work to do, won’t He be faithful in helping you complete it? Knowing this helps me to trust Him more, how about you?

This also reminds me of the work He’s doing in me:

Philippians 1: 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Trust takes time

Trust is learned over time; it’s something that is developed. I used to pray a lot for more faith as if I would wake up the next day and be able to part a lake. I am learning that it doesn’t work that way. God has been answering those prayers all along by teaching me more and more how I can trust Him.

Reading the Bible on a daily basis has been a tremendous help in this area of growth. Every time I turn the page it seems as though God is rescuing someone or delivering on a promise He made. Don’t take my word for it, this is my personal experience from my own journey. Find out for yourself how He works, join me by seeking Him.

Wise words from King David

I’ll leave you with these encouraging verses. These are David’s last recorded words to his son Solomon, passing the torch, so to speak:

1 Chronicles 28: 9 “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”

Will you trust Him?

“Dear Lord, You are the author of my life and my future is in your hands. Please help me know you more. I believe that if I can get to know you better, you will teach me how I can trust you more and more. Thank you in advance for what you will do in my life. I am excited about my future with you.  In Jesus Name, Amen”



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If you desire a closer walk with Jesus, just want more fellowship or "Bible Time" come join us at TheBibleTeam.com. We have weekly calls where our sole focus is spending time in God's Word.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Do You Trust Him? part 1

Do You Trust Him? part 1, Loving God, part XV

I hope you enjoyed the last post, “Do You Know What To Say When You Pray?”. I just love reading the examples of prayers throughout the Old Testament, there’s a certain vulnerability about them. They allow us to see these “Biblical Giants” as ordinary people and that gives me comfort. Now let’s talk trust!

I also love the simplicity of the greatest commandments. Jesus makes it clear that they are foundational to everything else.

Matthew 22: 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Greatest = Most Important

I don’t think there is a more important topic. I truly believe that if we can learn how to love God and develop an intimate relationship with Him, we’ll only want more. Only His love in us can enable us to love others.

The problem I have is trusting Him. He has met my needs at every turn and has provided for me in ways that I can’t even begin to describe. Still, I find myself waking Jesus up at the back of the boat, crying for him to save me.

God is teaching me that the greater my love is for Him, the more I will trust Him. This makes complete sense. The greatest reason I have for not trusting Him is fear. In light of that, I think it is important to understand this:

1 John 4: 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first.

The key to trusting God is to experience His love.

Think back to when you were young. Were you afraid of the dark? I’ll admit that I was. When I called on Mom or Dad, they came to my room and delivered soothing words. I was no longer afraid. As a child, I did not understand the love I had for my parents, but it was their love for me that gave me comfort.

It’s the same with God. It’s hard for us to know how much we love God, but we know that He loves us infinitely more.

I think it is safe to say that the more I understand just how much He loves me, the less I will be afraid. What’s great about God is that He doesn’t go back down the hall to His room, He stays right there in the bedroom with me. I can call on His name when I get scared, anxious or experience disbelief.

So keep on seeking and loving God and I am convinced that you will trust Him more and more!

I’ll wrap this message up on my next post. Until then, may God richly bless you!



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Have you seen my testimony?

If you desire a closer walk with Jesus, just want more fellowship or "Bible Time" come join us at TheBibleTeam.com. We have weekly calls where our sole focus is spending time in God's Word.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.