Father and Daughter by (c) Helene Souza at www.sxc.hu
Our money says, “In God We Trust.”
Our leaders say, “May God bless America.”
We appeal for prayers to God after our national tragedies.
Our people in the U.S.A. talk about trusting in God.
But what does it really mean to trust in God?
It certainly involves having faith and trust in His providential care and provision. That is the way we often use it in our culture. We talk about trust in God when the the present is gloomy and the future is uncertain. This is certainly a key part of what it means to have faith and trust in God (Prov. 3:4-6). Throughout the gospels when one put their faith in Jesus, the idea is not simply mental belief, but rather they trusted in Him.
But this is not all that it means to trust in God. It is not simply mental surrender. It is not just hope and confidence in God. Trusting in God must involve submission to the will of God.
In this recent post, I discussed sin and Jesus’ temptations by Satan. Another key point we should get from this text is that submission to the will of God is the way to trust in God (Mat. 4:1-11). With each temptation Jesus will refer to His allegiance, trust, and loyalty being in God. He does not need the Devil’s offer because he puts his trust in God. He does this by submitting to the will of God.
Our world desperately needs to hear this truth. Trusting in God emotionally, while not submitting to His will is a contradiction that God will not honor (Mat. 7:21-23)! Jesus brought grace and truth (John 1:14-17). We must know the truth so we can be set free (John 8:32).
It is insulting to God when we appeal to Him in trust, yet refuse to surrender to His will. We can pray and talk about trusting in God all day long, but until we repent and turn in obedience to the will of God we will not be pleasing to God. To speak of trust, but live in sin, is hypocritical at best and self-deception at worst.
This means that if I want to live a life that fully trusts in God, I must submit to His will (James 1:21-27).
