Trusting God can be extremely difficult in our daily lives. When everything is falling apart around us, it can feel as if we are drowning under the pressure of life itself. In these difficult times, it is hard to trust God. However, we need to always trust God, even when everything around us is going wrong, because God does have everything in control. Even if we may never understand why bad things are happening in our lives, we can always trust God's character, His goodness. If you are going through a difficult time and find yourself questioning God, here are seven ways to trust God:
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1. Read His Word Daily
Actively reading the Bible daily will help you build trust in God. When we are actively reading God’s Word, we will be better equipped to trust Him. Many places throughout the Bible tell us not to fear. Proverbs 3:5 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Similarly, Jeremiah 17:7 says, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”
Trusting in the Lord is always the right thing to do. There is no reason to doubt God as He can be fully trusted to work all things out for our God, as He promised (Romans 8:28). If we look back to the Old Testament and the New Testament, He always fulfills His promises and He never backs out of any of them. He always follows through and helps His children. By reading these truths in the Bible, we are reminded that God is completely trustworthy.
2. God Will Never Change
A second way to trust God is to remember that God never changes. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Unlike mankind, God never changes. He doesn’t change His mind nor does His character ever change. Unfortunately, people in our lives do change—even those closest to us. This can cause us to not trust them anymore and drift away from them. God is different, though, because His love and goodness never waver. He is always there with us and He will never become somebody He is not. Since God never changes, we can completely trust Him. As the Bible tells us, "[He] does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17).
3. God Does Not Lie
A third way to trust God is to know that God doesn’t lie (Titus 1:2). Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” As we are told in this passage, God does not lie and He does not change His mind. He is completely honest and truthful. Since He never lies, we can trust Him.
Sometimes, when I am having a hard time trusting God with the little things of life, I try to remind myself that since I can trust God with the big things of my life, such as salvation, redemption, and eternal life, then I can definitely trust Him in every other area of my life. God always tells the truth and we can fully trust Him—whether that be for giving us guidance, protecting us, or giving us salvation, we can trust Him because He doesn’t lie.
4. God Fulfills His Promises
Another way to trust God is by remembering all of the promises He has fulfilled in the past (Joshua 23:14). Every single promise that God made in the Bible was fulfilled or will be fulfilled in the future. The ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises is found in Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God.” Through Christ, we can receive the promise of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. God never breaks His promises as we can always count on Him. People in our lives tend to break promises and hurt us, and oftentimes, we can falsely assume God's character is the same. But God is different because He is God. God never breaks His promises and He will always uphold the promises He has made in the Bible.
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5. God Loves You
We can learn to trust God better by remembering that God loves us. God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us (John 3:16-17). Ever since the creation of mankind, God has pursued us. Despite all of our flaws and sins, God still loves us (Romans 5:8). Even if we make a million mistakes in one day, God’s unconditional love still pours out into our hearts. Many times, it can be hard for us to believe God loves us when everything is going wrong or when we are in pain, but He is still working everything out for our good behind the scenes. Even if we don't “feel” God’s love, that doesn't limit His ability to lavish goodness and grace upon us. God’s love is greater than our feelings. Whenever we don’t “feel” the love of God, we need to use our minds to point our hearts back to the truth. Since God loves us unconditionally and for all eternity, we can trust Him.
6. God Will Never Leave You
Another way to trust God is to recall the fact that God will never leave us. Hebrews 13:5b tells us, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Since God will never leave us, we can trust Him. He will never abandon us or leave us as sheep to be slaughtered. Many people in our lives lose our trust because they leave us, but God promises to never leave us. Whether we are on the highest mountain or in the deepest valley, God is right there beside us. Wherever we go, God is always with us even though we cannot see Him with our eyes. We can trust Him because He will never leave our side.
7. God Is Working All Things out for Your Good
It is true that God works out everything for our good, even if we don’t understand it at the time. To reiterate, Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” How to trust God in the hardest parts of life can be difficult, but it can help when we know everything that is happening to us is working out for our good.
God is in ultimate control, which means that even in the bad seasons of life, God is still working out His divine plan in our lives. We can trust God because He is working all things for our good even if we may never understand why we go through such dark times in our lives until we are in heaven. The death of a loved one, the ending of a relationship, or losing a job may seem to cause nothing but misery; however, even in these bad circumstances, God is making beauty from ashes. As Elisabeth Elliot said numerous times throughout her life, “Suffering is never for nothing.” God is working all of the events in your life for His divine purposes, even the seasons that are dark, painful, and full of tears. We can trust God because He works all things out for our good.
Trusting God
The concept of trusting God can be tough sometimes; however, it is always for our best that we trust God in every area of our lives. He deeply cares for us and loves us. Nothing in all of creation can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:31-39). If you are having difficulty trusting God today, these seven ways are a good place to start.
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Originally published Friday, 18 February 2022.
