Trusting God: What Does It Look Like?

“But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you” Deuteronomy 28: 15.

This chapter outlines the self-inflicted curses and consequences that the nation of Israel would face for breaking their covenant with God through disobedience. To read the passage for context, click here.

Trusting God Often Looks Like Loss

The reason disobedience is so heinous to God is because it reveals a lack of trust. And trust is the real issue with God. Obedience requires trust. That’s why the bible says, “trust and obey”. “Offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the Lord” Psalm 4: 5.

Obedience or righteousness requires us to trust God because it often looks like it will result in harm or loss.

Tithing when you don’t have enough money to pay your bills is an act of obedience and righteousness. It requires trust. Looking at it merely from a human perspective would lead you to believe that tithing will result in further shortfalls and greater poverty.

And unless God intervenes in our behalf, this in fact, will be the case. So, to tithe in this situation requires us to trust that God will not only take care of us but also bless us if we obey. Without trust we will not obey.

Trusting God when You’ve Been Hurt

How about blessing and doing good to those who’ve hurt you? Loving your enemies? This requires us to trust God because if we pray for them to be blessed, how will justice be done? How will they get their just deserts?

We simply have to trust that even if we pray for God’s mercy on them, He is still a God of justice. We must simply leave them in God’s hands and do what’s right. This requires trust and without it we won’t do it.

So, the real problem with disobedience is that it’s an expression of unbelief or lack of trust. Above all, God wants us to trust Him. And it is expressed in obedience.

Put to the Test

On my first nursing job in a nursing home years ago, I had to report what appeared to be medication errors on three separate occasions. And in all three instances, I could have easily gotten away with it without anyone knowing about them since no one was injured.

I also felt that since I was a new untested nurse, revealing them could jeopardize my job. But I knew I had to tell and simply trust God. One of them ended up not being an error after all. I thought I had given something that I had not in fact given.

Another was reported to the charge nurse who didn’t think it was of any consequence and did not need to be legally reported.

So, in the end, the three medication errors only turned out to be one. And unfortunately, in that setting medication errors are common place, so it was quickly dismissed.

But I was required to trust God in order to do the right thing. Without trust I certainly would not have admitted the errors. But God was faithful to protect me from the adverse consequences that seems so ominous at the time.

To read another post related to Trusting God: What Does It Look Like? see Steadfast and Immovable: Harbinger of Destiny.