Believe Him

Technically there seems to be very little difference between the words trust and believe. Their definitions are almost identical in meaning and yet as they are used in relation to God, they seem to carry very different weights. I don’t find this difference biblically but I do find it in my interactions with people attempting to follow Christ. 

I talk to more and more people who are trying to trust God. They use the word as if they don’t believe Him so they are attempting to trust Him. In other words, they still believe that this world is really all there is but they are attempting to trust God that there is more to this and eternity is an investment. They struggle with decisions because they don’t believe but they look at this idea of trust as making a decision contrary to what they believe based on what God has said. 

The problem I find is that this is an external focus. Rather than addressing their worldview they are addressing their decisions. They will trust God as they lose their job but they don’t believe God that He is always their provider. This leads to an incredible roller coaster of obedience and disobedience. Decisions are not flowing out of a repentant heart that now sees the world as God sees it. Decisions are flowing naturally from the world view they have always had unless they are confronted with truth and they decide to trust God with this decision. 

This is not how it works. The question isn’t whether you will trust God with this situation. The question is whether you believe God about the world. When you believe God about the world you will continually find areas that you didn’t realize need to change, but many things will change naturally. The battle will not be with trusting Him in your current situation, but with rooting out the areas in which your old-world view is still dominant. 

Life is no longer about changing behavior but rather about identifying the world view that is leading to that behavior and believing what God says instead of what I previously thought. This calls me to tear down idols constantly. My behavior is the fruit of a changed heart serving one God. 

Stop addressing the decisions and start looking for the lies behind them. Stop trying to trust God and begin believing Him.