Our God is Trustworthy!

(Overcomer Wu)

“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” -- Matthew 7:9-11

Most likely, we do not realize it while we were children that we all learn fundamental lessons about trust from our parents, guardians, or other people or close friends while we were young. If suppose a person has kind, faithful, and loving parents/guardians/friends, then trust seems to come more naturally when he or she becomes an adult. However, if a person's parents/guardians/friends are cold, careless, cruel, or distant, he/she will grow up with a predisposition that finds it hard to trust others. Unfortunately, our trust pre-disposition shaped by our childhood also becomes a factor oftentimes in whether we can put our full trust in God or not. For this reason, many believers have difficulty trusting God entirely. In an age noted for broken homes, betrayal of friends, and dysfunctional family, how is it possible for us to learn to put our trust in our Father in heaven?

First, we need to realize that God loves us unconditionally, just as we are. In fact, He loved us even while we were yet His enemies (Rom 5:10) and while we were the children of disobedience (Eph 2:2-4). We do not need to earn His love or favor; actually, we are entirely incapable of doing so before we were saved. It is not until the Spirit poured out the love of God in our hearts (Rom 5:5) that we can reciprocate His love to Him. At this moment, one may ask, "what does love have to do with trust?" Well, you cannot love someone unless you can first trust that person. And at the same time, we can say that trust/faith issues out of love, for this reason Galatians 5:6 says, "faith operates through love." Therefore, love and trust/faith goes hand-in-hand. We praise the Lord that God does not love us because of what we can offer Him. Rather, He loves us because His very nature is love (1 Jn 4:8,16). Because of that love, God provided our salvation at the great expense of the life of His precious Son, Jesus Christ. Thus, He is truly worthy of our praise and your trust.

Second, God is trustworthy because as Christians He has absolute control of our every situation. Psalm 103:19 declares, "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all." Therefore, we can trust that His perfect will shall be done, regardless of how difficult our situation may be. Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Third, God is trustworthy because He is the unchanging God. If someone were to say one thing one day and changes his/her words another day; obviously such person has proven himself/herself to be untrustworthy right? In 2 Samuel 7:21-22, we see one instance where David praise God for having done great things according to His Word. Praise the Lord that we do not have to worry about a God with changing ethics, broken promises, or not keeping His Words of honor; His perfect will and Word are changeless (Matt 24:25). He is truly the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8).

Fourth, God has repeatedly and invariably proven Himself to be absolutely faithful. As the Bible says, "His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is [His] faithfulness!" (Lam 3:22-23).

Praise the Lord! We can all testify to the trustworthiness and the love of God in these perilous and uncertain times. In Him, we can safely confide and have complete faith without wavering, knowing that we truly have a God we can trust!