Limitless Trust in God

There are so many scriptures in the Word of God about trust, confidence, hope and faith. Many years ago during a Father Heart of God course I felt an increasing desire to grow in faith and have a limitless trust in God. During that weekend I put this desire into a sincere prayer to God my Father. But only three weeks down the line I was facing big challenges I didn’t understand and I complained to God: “Why do I have to go through this? Why are You allowing this to happen?”

While I was still murmuring I heard that still small voice: “Andreas, what did you ask me about three weeks ago?” Immediately I remembered my prayer about limitless trust and I felt God saying: “Andreas, how do you think this kind of trust will grow?” And I knew it wouldn’t happen in green pastures beside the still waters, or during a gentle stroll in the sunshine where everything is well and works out fine. It would be in the challenges of life and in difficult situations when I’m utterly dependent on God. It would be in the dark valleys and the desert places when I can only come through with God’s help. It would be in utterly bleak moments at the end of myself, thrown on to God.

There are many examples in the Bible about people who had to fully trust God. Sometimes it seemed like trusting Him blindly. In Genesis 12 Abraham had to leave the securities of being a business man, well settled in a town, to become a travelling nomad living in tents on his journey into a land which he didn’t know.

On another occasion a man of God said to his people in an utterly hopeless situation: ‘Do not be afraid; stand firm and see the salvation the Lord brings you today; He will fight for you; you only need to be still.’ These were the words of Moses in Exodus 14 when God’s people were trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea.

How about the challenges for God’s people in the book of Joshua when they were about to cross the Jordan? In faith the priests had to step into the river before the waters parted. Sometimes we have to get our feet wet before we can go through the water and stay dry. Joshua had to circumcise his men just before taking a big fortified city. This is the last thing a commander would do before a battle. After that God gives them the most unusual strategy to conquer Jericho.

Sometimes I wonder what level of trust things like this required. After all, they were men and women like us. To another, who was very feeble and in hiding, the angel of God had to say: ‘God is with you mighty warrior!’ In Judges 6 and 7 we read that Gideon was sent to conquer an army of 100,000 men with his 32,000 men. As if that wasn’t challenging enough God downsized his army to 10,000 and then even more, down to 300 men. God gave them the most interesting strategy so that no one could boast and take the credit for himself. It was a miracle of God, a God who makes the impossible possible.

I don’t think all these men and women of God had that full trust from the very beginning but I do believe that God was leading them, step by step, into a deeper confidence in Him. When Abraham had to face the biggest test of his life, it wasn’t a leap of faith from zero to ten but a step of faith which followed many other steps before. When he raised his knife to sacrifice his son Isaac he knew in his heart that God could raise from the dead and he became the father of faith despite all his earlier failures.

How encouraging these examples from the Bible can be for us if we read these stories knowing that these men and women weren’t spiritual super heroes but very human beings like us. There was a reason why God had to say constantly: ‘Do not fear, be of good courage and trust in me!’ Therefore we can with confidence commit our ways to God, have faith in Him and know that He will bring it to pass (Psalm 37:5).

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, please help me to trust You with Your plans and ways for my life. I want to trust You more and more with the seemingly impossible situations or circumstances in my life. Thank You, Father, that You restore my ability to trust, step by step, and that You are not asking me to do the impossible which You would not make possible. Thank You for the numerous encouraging examples and stories in the Old Testament which display Your utter faithfulness! In the name of Your precious son Jesus I pray. Amen.