Trust in the Lord
Proverbs 3:5-6
Faith vs. Trust: Is faith the same thing as trust? If not, what is the difference?
Faith is a noun: It is something we HAVE... (Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.").
but faith is not trust...
Trust is a verb: Trust is something we DO...
Trust is faith in action! It is the manifestation of our faith in our thoughts and actions. While faith says "He can...", trust says "He is... and I will think and act accordingly!"
It is far easier to have faith in God; there are unbelievers who have this. It is a lot harder to exercise trust in Him... (Ex: 3 kinds of faith – Dead, Demonic and Dynamic)
ILL: In the late 1800's there was a great performer known as "The Great Blondin." He was a tightrope walker specifically. One of his greatest stunts, involved walking a tightrope high above the world famous Niagara Falls. Once he even carried his manager on his back! Always looking to better his last great feat, Blondin now asked the crowd if they believed he could cross the falls on the tightrope while pushing a wheelbarrow - the crowd had no doubt "The Great Blondin" could do it!
All of those people witnessed Blondin cross the falls on the rope. They gained first-hand knowledge of his abilities. They had confidence that he could perform the more difficult stunt. Yet, when it came time to act on those beliefs, they were silent...still. They did not trust him.
Many of us have seen what God can do, and we believe (faith)... when He calls us to "ride" with him (trust), will we sit silent? Will we stand still?...:
We say we trust god but we don’t. just like the US dollar – in god we trust. But not really!!!
I can give you a lot of reasons why we should trust God. But our text hits the nail on the head. King Solomon tells us the main reason why we should trust God is when we trust God, He guides us. Our part is to do the trusting and His part is to do the guiding. When you trust in God it will make a huge difference in your life. So this morning let me give you three things that will help us to put our trust in God.
1. We need to be Confident in Gods Care (Vs.5)
Trust here in the Hebrew means to put all of your weight. An example would be like when you go to bed tonight, you lie down trusting that the bed will fully support your weight. Kids will run and jump into bed, and then when you get my age you just fall into bed, but either way you don’t give it a second thought. You don’t keep one foot on the floor so that you can get up if the bed won’t support you. You put all of your weight on the bed.
When you put your trust in God, you put all your weight on Him. And that is why God says in our text, “with all your heart”. You either give Him all your trust or none at all. Half hearted trust is like wholehearted doubt. But did you ever ask yourself why you don’t give God your complete trust? Ask yourself, has He ever given you a reason not to trust Him.
That is why the verse finishes with, “And lean not on your own understanding”. If you put what you think ahead of what God thinks then you will be living in the darkness and not in the light. So you have to ask yourself, am I going to trust God or am I going to lean on my own understanding.
- Think about instances we read about in the Bible. When a little boy named David was getting ready to go up and fight someone who was 9’9” tall. He can dunk a basketball and never even jump. So King Saul went and brings his own armor and puts on David and Saul was a full-grown man and David says, “Look Saul, I can’t even walk in this”. So I’m sure that Saul was thinking let me see if I can find one your size. But David said no I don’t need them. I trust in the God who killed the lion and the bear to protect me more than I do your fancy armor. So David when out and chose five smooth stones and he took his sling to go out and face this giant and he took one stone and stuck him in the forehead and killed him. Now that was not under nobody’s understanding, just David trusting in God.
- You have Noah building a boat in the middle of the desert without a drop of water in site. And can you imagine how the neighborhood mocked him for 40 years? Nobody understood what he was doing, not even his family, and not even Noah. He simply trusted in God and did what God had given him to do. And because of his trust, he and his family were saved from the flood.
- Can you imagine the thoughts of Joshua’s army when the battle plan to destroy Jericho was to simply march around the city and blow horns? I can imagine by the third day of doing this, many probably thought that Joshua had been out in the sun to long because of their own understanding. But on that seventh day they marched around that city and blew their horns and then he gave the command to shout and the city fell inward and the city was theirs. Joshua didn’t understand but simply trusted in God.
And that is what King Solomon, the wisest person to ever live, is telling us to do. Trust in God, don’t lean on what you think is best. Just obey Him and do as He says. There might be times in our lives that don’t make sense and we don’t understand but we must simple trust God.
Not only should will we be confident in God’s care but also we need to be…
2. Committed to God’s purpose (Vs.6)
This is more than reading your Bible and praying.
This Hebrew word for acknowledges means to see Him. So in everything we need to look for His guidance. Whether it is going to vacation or our vocation. Whether it is when we are praying on playing. Acknowledge Him. Always keep God in mind. Always means in your marriage and your family. Always means see Him in your recreation and your vocation. Always means see Him in your finances. Always means from the time you get out of bed, all through the day, you look for God. What would He want you to do? How would He handle it?
How would our lives be changed if we would see what He wants in all aspects in life?
Sometimes we get confused about bringing the little things to God. We think that He only wants to be bothered in the big decisions in life.
I heard about a lady who went to her pastor and asked him if he thought that God would want to be involved in the little things in her life. The pastor replied, do you really think that God thinks that anything you go through is big to Him? (ILL: Two young men in our congregation were having a discussion about their future wifes – one of them stated that there is still time for that and we should not disturb God with such silly issues???)
Here is what God want us to do. He wants us to sign a blank contract and then let Him fill in the blanks. No one would sign a blank contract, we might not always understand the contract but we act like we do and at least read it. But God says you trust in me and give me your life then I will fill in the blanks.
Then we need to be…
3. Controlled by God’s will (Vs.6)
You do your part, by bringing things to Him, and He will do His, which is directing your path. This is a conditional promise. He will not force us to make the right decisions. He created us with free will. We bring it to Him, and then He will in His own time, not ours, direct us. Ex: Potter and the clay – Jeremiah 18:1-6
Psalm 32:8-10, I will instruct you and reach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse on like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trust in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.
ILL: Learning a car – You will not have full control - the trainer still has control of the vehicle in case you do anything wrong. God does not want to be your co-pilot. He wants to be your pilot.
You see you are in one of three levels. Level 1 is I do what I want to do. I don’t care who it effects or what the circumstances surrounding it. Level 2 is I do what I think I ought to do. And this is the level that most Christians are at. But the 3rd level is the one we should all strive to be at. That is the level that say I will do what He leads me to do.
Conclusion: Proverbs 3:5-6
ILL: Bus Driver – When you get into a bus – do you worry whether this time the driver will take the right path, whether you reach you destination... or land somewhere else...
We need to be Confident in God’s care
We need to be Committed to God’s purpose
We need to be Controlled by God’s will
