What Does It Really Mean to Trust in the Lord?
“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him” Proverbs 30: 5.
To take refuge in God is to trust Him or yield to His ways and word. We can do this with confidence because His word has been tested and found true down through the ages.
To read the entire passage for context, click here
Trust Exposes Us
If we trust in or take refuge in Him, which is expressed in doing things His way, He will be our shield. But there’s a problem Houston: Doing things His way will expose us to the threat of loss or harm.
Obedience will often be a threat to our well-being. But He promises to shield us from these threats. And it’s a good thing too because those who trust in or take refuge in Him need a shield.
We need to be protected from the threat we’ve exposed ourselves to by giving money away we needed to pay bills. Or by choosing to stay in an unhealthy, unhappy marriage. Or to tell the truth in a situation that will make us look bad.
Also, when we trust in and take refuge in the Lord, the devil will throw his fiery darts our way. But we need not fear because God will be our shield.
He Will Be Our Shield If We Yield
A refuge sounds like a protection, a safe place, doesn’t it? But the fact is, taking refuge in the Lord exposes us to the threat of harm or loss. But the Lord will shield us from the threat our obedience has exposed us to.
Those who refuse to trust in the Lord because they see the threat think they are protecting themselves. But they’re not taking into account the fact that God will protect them. And cause it all to work for their good (Romans 8: 28).
He will also fulfill the glorious promise He gives to those who take refuge in Him.
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly” Psalm 84: 11.
What Does it Mean to Trust in the Lord for Me Personally?
For example, if I choose to lie about a mistake I make at work, ostensibly I will have protected myself from the threat of getting reprimanded or worse.
But neither can I claim the promise of protection and deliverance given to those who take refuge in Him (Psalm 91, Psalm 32: 7). I might get to keep my job, but I won’t excel at it.
Or let’s say I choose to keep my money so I can pay my bills rather than give any to God. It’s true I’m protecting myself from the threat of not being able to pay my bills.
But I also forgo the promise of success and prosperity given to those who put Him first in their finances (Proverbs 3: 9, 10, Luke 6: 38, 2 Corinthians 9: 6-8). In order to obtain the promise, we must first expose ourselves to the threat.
God’s Paradoxical Economy
To get to the Promise Land we must go through the Wilderness.
To be exalted we must first be humbled.
To find our life we must lose it.
To give birth we must go through labor.
What Does It Mean to Trust in the Lord? He Is My Refuge
Every promise of God has a condition attached. In order to see the fulfillment of the promise I must fulfill the condition. This condition is what represents a threat to my well-being. This is why it’s so hard to do. And why it takes faith.
Faith that God is with me. And for me. And will deliver me from the threat I’ve exposed myself to. And will fulfill the promise attached to that condition or threat.
To read another post related to What Does It Mean to Trust In the Lord? see How Is God Our Father?