Can we trust God? No doubt we all would respond in the affirmative. No matter how stormy life may seem, at the end of the day we know that even if everything else fails, we still can hold onto God and trust Him. But while this may seem like one of the simplest truths we can know, I think it’s worthwhile to examine more closely. What exactly does it mean to trust God? What exactly are we trusting Him for? Without answers to these questions, saying we trust God may be nothing more than a phrase that gives us a brief emotional boost when we need it. Surely expressing trust in God is (or should be) more than personal reassurance.
If I have a need, and I say I’m trusting God for that need, the plain meaning would be that I’m confident that God will provide it. But does God always provide every one of our needs? Note that I’m talking about legitimate needs, not “wants” we may mistakenly consider to be needs. This is important because many people have trusted God and yet still have had terrible things happen to them, even death. Does this mean that they were wrong to trust God? If we maintain that God can be trusted, trusting Him must mean something other than expecting to receive whatever it is that we need.
We may know this in a superficial sense, recalling that we need to rely only on God and that we should expect trials in this life. But when difficulties come, sometimes we still assume that we can trust God to “take care of us.” This phrase is vague intentionally, in order to leave open a wide range of possible ways in which God may do what we expect Him to. However, don’t we often have something more specific in mind? It’s tempting to decide what’s best for ourselves, and then assume that, since God is reasonable, He must agree. Then we assure ourselves that God will do that particular thing and don’t allow ourselves or others to question, because we’re afraid doing so would be “doubting God.” But who would we really be doubting: God, or our own assumptions? When Jesus was tempted to jump off the roof of the temple, He wasn’t doubting God’s ability to catch Him. The mere fact that God is capable of something does not imply that we ought to expect it simply because we have decided that is what is best in our particular situation.
To clarify, I’m not suggesting that God never communicates His specific will in a situation, or that His will never involves supernatural provision, healing, or some other solution to a problem. Certainly this happens, and while as fallible human beings we can’t be 100% sure that we heard correctly from God, it will be reasonable in certain situations (with sufficient confirmation) to trust for these specific things. However, the danger is that we’ll become too preoccupied with our own well-being, deciding for ourselves what is best and then assuming God is nothing more than a wish-granter who is required to act accordingly.
Therefore, when we say we trust God, we must take into account the possibility that our particular needs may not be met. We may not always have our health, but we can trust God even if we lose it. We may not always have material needs such as food, shelter, or enough money, but even without these, we can still can trust Him. Indeed, at some point we all will lose our lives, in some cases far sooner than we would like; yet, He still can be trusted. Thinking through these possibilities reveals whether our focus is on ourselves, or on God. Are we concerned primarily with what we can get from God, or with how we can serve Him regardless of our own well-being? Further, are we really trusting God? Or are we trusting that He will make sure we have whatever it is that we actually trust?
Is there nothing, then, for which we can trust God? Absolutely there is! We can trust Him for our salvation. We can trust that He will never cease loving us. We can trust Him to keep His promises (although we must carefully distinguish between general and specific promises, a great topic for another time). We can trust Him for ultimate justice, that everything will be made right eventually. And we can trust that He is good and always will do what is best (whether that means intervening in a particular situation or not).
This may leave some of us feeling vulnerable and fragile, and it should. We are not promised comfort or well-being in this world. Certainly it would be nice if God would step in and bail us out if things became too difficult. But we have to be careful to avoid imagining God as being the way we think He ought to be. Ultimately, this realization moves our focus from ourselves to God. It helps us understand that our world revolves around God, and His purposes may be accomplished whether or not we have everything we need. In fact, His purposes often are accomplished better if we don’t have everything we need. Our personal well-being is not the issue when our world is centered on Him. God does not exist simply to serve our needs or make us more comfortable. And we cannot assume that, because He loves us, He will do whatever it is we have determined is best and most loving; or, that if He does not do something for us we think He should, that it means He doesn’t love us.
I believe this is an important topic to discuss because there may be some who have a false expectation that will ultimately turn them away from God. Whether it’s a non-believer who concludes that our God must not be very powerful or care about us, or a believer who begins to doubt God’s love, the belief that the trustworthiness of God implies our needs always will be met is dangerous. It’s imperative that we manage our expectations wisely and be sure we understand God’s promises and what we can expect from Him. We need to remember that we are a supporting character in God’s story, not the other way around.
After all, the end of Hebrews 11 points out that most of the people highlighted in the preceding chapter died without yet receiving what it was for which they were hoping. This should serve as a model for our own trust in God. Ultimately, we have a fragile existence that could end at any time. Life isn’t about us, it’s about God and our service to Him, and sometimes this means not having material comforts. But God can always be trusted for things of eternal importance.
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