Choosing to Trust God

Psalm 56:3-4- “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”

First, I would like to ask, what are some things that are holding you back from trusting God? Please right out a list of everything in your life that you find difficult to place in the sovereign hands of our Father in Heaven (A difficult circumstance you’re walking through, the way you look, who you will marry, a problem at school, your friends, etc.) and at the end of this post, I’ll explain what to do with the list you create.

David in his times of distress chose to trust God. In Psalm 56:3-4, David admitted he was afraid. David was not cocky or arrogant. Despite the fact that he was a warrior of great skill and courage, there were times when he was afraid. But despite David’s fear, he said to God, “I will trust in you…I will not be afraid!” Many times in the Psalms we find the determination to trust God- choosing to trust Him despite all our circumstances. To Trust in the Lord we must learn to set Him before us and then recognize His presence and constant help. This is something we must choose to do! If we are to trust God, we must believe in His truth and say, “I will trust you even though I don’t always feel like it.”

God is always with us! He has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) We must choose whether or not we will believe His promises of constant protection and care. Trusting God is a matter of faith. Only the Holy Spirit can help make His Word come alive in our hearts and create that faith, but we can choose to look to Him to do that, or we can choose to be ruled by our feelings of anxiety, resentment or grief.

“The same David who said in Psalm 56:4, “In God I trust; I will not be afraid” said in Psalm 34:4, “I sought the Lord, and He answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” David recognized it was his responsibility to choose to trust God, but also that he was dependent upon the Lord for the ability to do it. Not only will He never leave you, but He cares for you. He is not just there with you, He cares for you. His care is constant- not occasional or sporadic. His care is sovereign- Nothing can touch you that He does not allow. His care is infinitely wise and good.” –Jerry Bridges

Trusting God is not always easy, but when we do trust Him, it makes life so much easier! It is a battle that we will always fight, but because God is so gracious, He provides us with strength daily to help us walk through our difficulties. Trusting God is a choice that we must make to have a relationship with Him. As we learn to cast all our anxieties on God, trusting Him will become much, much easier!

Now let’s refer back to the list we created in the beginning… Please take a couple minutes to pray for each item that’s on your list. If you don’t know how to pray for these things, pray something like this: “Lord I choose to cast all my anxieties on you, please help me to surrender __________ in Your sovereign hands. I choose to trust you by Your Spirit to enable me to cast all my anxieties on You, not to take it back on myself because I know that You care for me."