The young girl sitting across from me cried softly, “I’m afraid that if I trust God, I’ll experience some cosmic disillusionment.”
How can we confidently believe that God is reliable, dependable and committed to our care? How do we know that if we give Him our lives and reveal to Him our deepest desires, some tragedy will not befall us?
The psalmists who have gone before us can help answer our questions. So much depends on knowing God’s character, understanding His past performance, and seeing life from His viewpoint. In Psalm 84:11 we read, “No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (NASB).
Trust would not be trust if it did not require some commitment from us to walk by faith and not by sight. God is a trustworthy confidant, for He constantly seeks our good.
“Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him” (Psalm 28:6-7, NASB).
Choosing to Trust
- 1. The psalmists had a deep and abiding confidence in the trustworthiness of God. Read through Psalms 31, 40, 55 and 56. Describe the circumstance that prompted the writer to trust in God.
- David struggled with enemies and rejection. What are your most difficult areas in trusting God?
- Summarize the reasons the psalmist cited for trusting God.
- What other aspects of the psalmist’s life were touched because of his trust in God?
- From your reading in this chapter, select a passage declaring a reason for trusting God.
[Concerning Psalm 56:3-4]
“It is a blessed fear which drives us to trust. Unregenerate fear drives from God, gracious fear drives to Him. If I fear man I have only to trust God, and I have the best antidote. To trust when there is no cause for fear is but the name of faith, but to be reliant upon God when occasions for alarm are abundant and pressing is the conquering faith of God’s elect. Though the verse is in the form of a resolve, it became a fact in David’s life; let us make it so in ours. Whether the fear arises from without or within, from past, present or future, from temporals or spirituals, from men or devils, let us maintain faith, and we shall soon recover courage.” –Charles H. Spurgeon
Reflection
I have had a few untrustworthy friends in my life. Some violated my trust by sharing our intimate conversations; some seemed to withdraw when I needed help; and some promised to do something but then for various reasons never followed through. It is rare to find a trustworthy confidant.
In Psalm 55, David recorded his feelings when he experienced the pain of an untrustworthy friend. One of his trusted counselors had turned on him by staying to support David’s son Absalom when he seized his father’s throne. This “friend” is believed to have been Ahithophel. David’s heart was anguished by this unfaithfulness from a former close friend: “It is not an enemy who reproaches me.” Ahithophel was David’s equal. They had taken sweet counsel together and worshiped side by side, companions who had made a covenant of friendship. As he reflected on their relationship, David remembered, “His speech was smoother than butter, but his heart was war” (Psalm 55:21, NASB).
Devastated, David turned to the one and only faithful Friend: “As for me, I shall call upon God” (Psalm 55:16, NASB)–the true Confidant who never forsakes or disappoints, whose word is always true. After casting his burden on the Lord, David concluded with beautiful words of intimacy: “But I will trust in Thee” (Psalm 55:23, NASB).
Your Trust in God
a) Write it out in your preferred Bible version. In the coming week, read this passage each day and meditate on it whenever you have a few spare moments. Committing it to memory will help imprint its truth on your mind and heart.
b) Tell the Lord in the form of a short written prayer why this reason for trusting Him is significant to you.
Other Scriptures on God’s trustworthiness: Isaiah 26:4; Jeremiah 17:5-8; 1 Timothy 4:9-10.