Do You REALLY Trust God?

Have you ever experienced one of the moments where someone says that s/he trusts you but then does something that directly contradicts that statement? It’s kind of like saying that you trust someone to catch you when you do the trust fall and then are too afraid to actually do the action of falling into their arms. Keeping this in mind, read Genesis 32:1-21.

See what I mean? Jacob prays to God, “Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children”—which is great—but still keeps his camp divided into two groups, so that if Esau does attack one of the groups, the other one can escape. Although Jacob knows that God has said to him, “I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude,” he still decides that, instead of trusting in God completely, it would better to say that he trusts in God while setting up precautions against Esau’s anger.

The sad thing is, although we can bash Jacob as much as we want, we are actually really no better. Because if we all think back, we have undoubtedly done the same thing: we don’t completely trust God. I know that I myself do this all the time. As of right this instant I pretty much have no clue what I want to do in the future let alone what I think God wants me to do in the future for college, jobs, goals, etc. And I try to tell God that I trust Him because I know that He’s in control of everything and that He will open whatever doors He chooses (and close whatever ones He desires too). Yet, I still worry and fret; I still think about all the “what-if’s” and try to plan out my entire life because I like to have my time scheduled out always. I think that God has really been challenging me to TRUST HIM and HIM ALONE. This doesn’t mean that I should stop doing my work, throw everything down, lift my hands to heaven, and sit there waiting for God to do something. I’m still called to work hard and utilize the skills that God has given me, but I’m also called to do my best, submit my applications, and trust that God will lead me to right college, instead of worrying about all the possible scenarios in my mind.

So what is God challenging—because change is never, ever easy—you to trust Him with? Does He want you to stop worrying so much about your future? Does He want you to stop setting up back-up plans in case His perfect plan somehow doesn’t work? Or maybe God is calling you to not just jump straight to application, this-is-what-God-wants-me-to-change-today; instead, maybe He just wants you to sit at His feet and listen to Him. Because if you don’t listen to what He has to say and get to know Him, to develop your relationship with Him…how can you ever trust Him? Just like you and your close friends/best friend didn’t just suddenly trust each other. It’s an ongoing process that is learned and cultivated. Because if we learn to trust God deeply and ever-deepen that trust, God will draw you closer and closer to Him and you will learn to see His blessings in ways you’ve never seen before.