We first touched on hope, then belief, and in this discussion we will focus on trust from a biblical point of view. At the feet of Christ Jesus again, we pray for divine guidance for knowledge and insight to share his word to his glory and honour.
What is biblical trust?
Trust is the confidence reposed in another based on knowledge of proven integrity. Trust is about purity of proven conscience irrespective of the challenging circumstances. Trust includes loyalty and it is based on a history of favourable experience or results from the trusted to the trusting party. 1 Samuel 3: 20 says and all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD.
Trust is spiritual in nature because of the integrity and conscience factors. Job said of God in Job 4: 17-18 Can mortals be righteous before God? Can human beings be pure before their Maker? Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth.
Trust is not of mortals
Human beings cannot be trusted except by grace. The basis for trust is rightness or righteousness which mortals lack. This is affirmed in Job 15: 15, God puts no trust even in his holy ones, and the heavens are not clean in his sight; how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, one who drinks iniquity like water. So, trust is founded on holiness which cannot be guaranteed in mortals.
Trust is not based on substance or in vacuum. Job 15: 31 says let them not trust in emptiness, deceiving themselves; for emptiness will be their recompense. Trust must not be for the sake of just trusting but in God to satisfy a divine purpose. Jeremiah 17: 5 says cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the LORD. In truth, we don’t even know who we are. Psalms 146: 3 says do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
Trust is of God and divine
However Psalms 125: 1 says those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. We also read from Isaiah 26: 4 trust in the LORD forever, for in the LORD GOD you have an everlasting rock. These two verses confirm that trust comes from what is known, tried and tested and found worthy. Only God and his Son Jesus meet these criteria, not mortals. Proverbs 3: 5 says trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.
In contrast, Proverbs 11: 28 says those who trust in their riches will wither, but the righteous will flourish like green leaves. Our nature does not qualify us to be trusted. Proverbs 28: 26 says those who trust in their own wits are fools; but those who walk in wisdom come through safely. God appreciates our trust in him based on our knowledge and experience with him. Psalms 37: 5 says commit your way to the LORD, trust in him, and he will act. Do we trust in God or in human beings?
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, for our failing to trust in you, we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. Help us to trust in your unfailing love and sacrifice on the cross for us. Our trust is in you Lord Jesus, Amen!!
