Faith vs Trust
This morning I had this thought. A lot of times people acknowledge the areas of their lives where they need work. They usually say things like, “I really need to work on that” or “I am working on that” or “God knows I am working on that.” My prayer to that thought was, “Lord help us to realize that we don’t have to ‘work on that’ because we can give that very thing to you, who can change us ‘just like that.” There ain’t nothing too hard for God. But sometimes we look at things in our lives as these big ole mountains that seem impossible to move. But God’s Word says in Mark 11:22-23 NLT:
22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. Mark 11:22-23 NLT
I pray that we stop saying: we need to work on that: and instead pray and have faith that it is already worked out!
As I finished up my prayer time and moved into my Bible reading time (by the way, we are going to start reading Hebrews on Monday, November 30th for our Scriptural Bible Study), but I flipped open my bible and landed in Esther. It’s so funny because in my mind as I transitioned from praying to Bible time, I had a bunch of thoughts on “HOW” God would work some things out in my life. There are some specific prayers that I have prayed and I found myself wondering how it would work out.
Guess what? God answered my thoughts right there on the bottom of the page I flipped to in Esther. It was highlighted and everything. He reassured me that He is weaving a whole series of people and events together in history to achieve His Kingdom goals, which are bigger than me. He also reminded me right there on that page that HIS TIMING IS ALWAYS PERFECT.
See, when I inquired just in my mind (I didn’t ask out loud), how God would do it; and when my mind started attempting to put the puzzle pieces of my life together, He let me know that I don’t have to work on that! Just trust Him. He got this!
I recently read this question on Pastor Tim Ross’s Instagram Story Q&A. The person was asking him what can they do if they aren’t trusting God enough. Pastor Tim’s answer really resonated with me. He said: “When you can’t trust God, have faith in Him.” I thought that was very profound! But he didn’t leave it at that. He explained that faith and trust are two different things.
Faith is what you have when you don’t know.
Trust is what you have when you DO know.
I started exploring the web for some faith scriptures and ran right smack dab into the book of Hebrews. Now mind you, I had been wondering if this was the next book we are to read for the Scriptural Bible Study. I had even told my friend yesterday that it was the first book of the Bible that popped into my head when she asked me what we are reading next. I was actually brewing my coffee when I thought HE BREWS! Of course, I was like, yes God, send him who will brew my coffee in the morning sometimes! LOL! LOL!! LOL!
But anyway, my Google search yielded this link on Bible verses about faith and Hebrews 11:1 and 11:6 were right there at the top:
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 NLT
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Hebrews 11:6 NLT
I highlighted in my journal the part of the verse 6 that says, He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.
As I kept reading through the scriptures, these others stood out to me:
Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:3
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. John 20:29
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusts in Him. Psalm 34:8
If we ever feel like we are struggling to trust God, we should open the word of God and be willing to seek Him. This is what you do to restore your faith when your faith levels are running on fumes. The Bible is a great place to fill your faith tank! But remember that doubt kills faith! Don’t kill your faith with doubt. Feed your faith with the Word of God.
When you look at Proverbs 3:5, trusting God is exactly where He wants us to be. I find myself often having to remember that I can’t control anything. I have to let go and trust God. Our destiny is out of our control. Yes, we can control our actions, but not necessarily the outcomes of those actions. There is nothing we as humans can do to change God’s plans for our lives. That’s why we should surrender to Him. Trusting God is the only way to fulfill our destiny! Even when I pray, my requests must first honor God, rather than myself. I honestly only want what God wants for me. I want my wants to align with His wants for my life because He knows the plan.
We have to trust God with our plans and not try to figure it out or work on it ourselves. God wants us to be flexible so that He can use us to the fullest. That means letting go.
I get it. Letting go is hard because as humans we want to control everything. So I know trusting God isn’t an easy thing to come by. Like I said, I have to remind myself (and He reminds me too) to just trust Him and His timing, which is always perfect. I realize that trusting God is one of the most important parts of our relationship. I believe He has me walking out this crazy faith season so that I can build my faith and trust Him even more than I do now.
P.S. This is the Song I tried to sing at the end of podcast! LOL!!
SALVATION PRAYER
If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and you’re not a believer, but you have a desire to be, all you have to do is openly confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community, stay connected to other believers, and start having daily conversations through prayer with God every single day. Welcome to your new life with Jesus Christ!!!
ASSIGNMENTS
What did Holy Spirit say to you in your conversation with Him this morning?
When it comes to faith vs trust, where are you in your relationship with God?
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