When You Struggle to Trust God

FROM HEAD KNOWLEDGE TO HEART KNOWLEDGE:

1. EVALUATE WITH HONESTY  How do these four truths resonate with you?  Are they easy for you to accept and lean into? Or do you struggle with them?

2.  start right now. Pray both the promises and the verses connected with them and ask God for moments in your life where you can clearly see God's character on display.

Transcript

Sometimes it’s hard to trust God. But as we talked about in Hope Renewed, when we’re struggling to trust God, one of the things we need to do is remember his character.

It’s because of who he is that we can trust him, even when we do not understand what on earth he is doing. So let’s review four key aspects of his character that help us trust him.

The first is that he is sovereign. He is all-powerful, and he is in control.

Psalm 135:6 says, “Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.” So this first aspect of who God is reminds us that he is in control. He is able to intervene. He is not unable. He is able. He is in control of your circumstances right now.

Number two, he is wise. Flipping over to Isaiah 55:8–9, these verses are going to remind us that God knows so much more than us and that he sees a bigger picture than we do.

Isaiah 55:8–9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Sometimes we don’t understand what God is doing. It makes no sense to us. But remembering how much wiser God is than us, and how much more he sees than we see, can help us trust him.

Trait number three is God’s loving kindness. So far, we said God is in control, and he’s wise. But does he really care about me? Yes. God is full of loving kindness toward us. He cares about us, and he loves us, and he is for us. And if we ever doubt that, we need only look at the cross.

Romans 5:8: “But God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” You don’t die for someone that you don’t care about. You don’t come down from heaven, live as a human, give your entire life, sacrifice yourself in an awful death because you don’t care. God loves and cares about us. If he did that, he cares about what you’re going through right now, too. So, he cares. He loves you. He is for you.

And finally, he is faithful. In other words, God keeps his promises. It’s not like, “I care and I’m able, but I kind of forgot about you.” No. He is faithful.

Exodus 34:6: “The Lord passed before him, Moses, and proclaimed,”—this is how God describes himself—“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” So God is faithful. He keeps his promises. We can trust him.

So, which of these four aspects have you maybe been unintentionally doubting a little bit lately? Is it his sovereignty? Is it the fact that he is wiser? Is it his loving kindness? Or is it his faithfulness?

Take a moment. Meditate on that truth, and pray and ask God to help you to grow in belief and trust in him.

FROM HEAD KNOWLEDGE TO HEART KNOWLEDGE:

1. EVALUATE WITH HONESTY  How do these four truths resonate with you?  Are they easy for you to accept and lean into? Or do you struggle with them?

2.  start right now. Pray both the promises and the verses connected with them and ask God for moments in your life where you can clearly see God's character on display.