Trust Him

Text: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

Trust in the Lord for what?

What does it mean to trust in the Lord?

When should we trust in the Lord?

Why should we trust in the Lord?

How do we trust in the Lord?

What is trust or what does it mean to trust?

If we trust someone, we have complete confidence in them. We truly believe they are honest; their word is good; they can and will do what they say; they are of reputable character, and they are truthful.

Do you know anyone like this? Do the people with whom you associate fit these criteria? Can you and I say we are trustworthy and all these standards apply to us?

We would like to believe that all people are trustworthy, but truth-of-the-matter is, they are not. We may think we are the only one who can be fully trusted, but we are only fooling ourselves.

How many times has someone told you something and then told you not to tell someone else? Then the moment comes when you just can’t keep the information to yourself and you tell someone and follow with the same words, “Don’t tell anyone else?”

When we spread information that is confidential, we have forfeited our trust. When we spread stories or rumors that may hurt someone else, we are gossiping and our reputable character is destroyed.

We are human beings and we have a sinful nature. This was part of our nature before we were ever born. Everyone falls into this category. No person is immune. Guess what? We are all in the same boat.

The only One who is completely trustworthy all the time is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. All three are one in the same. God the Father is our Creator; God the Son came to this earth to pay the penalty for our sins and God the Holy Spirit resides within our heart and is always ready to lead us down the straight and narrow road of this earthly life.

Our Scripture reading indicates that Jesus had many followers. We are told that “great multitudes followed Him” (John 6:2). Were these people following Him because they had great trust in what He was doing or were they following Him because they saw many signs of His performances?

The people saw some of the many healing that took place through Jesus. They saw or heard of the healing of the noblemen’s son; the healing of the man at the Pool of Bethesda; the water that was turned into wine at the wedding at Cana, and other signs indicating authority, power and deity. Did they really trust Jesus or were they merely curiosity seekers?

I believe some were curious about Jesus, but I also believe that some were convinced He was more than just a prophet. There are people today who believe Jesus was a person, but that He was not God. They do not believe in the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit as being one in the same.

Some believe they are in total control of their life. This is true to a certain point and that point being they have the privilege of making choices. Many times they make choices that will benefit their own desires. Sometimes these choices are made at the expense of other people.

At times a married couple will have issues because one or the other is very demanding or selfish and does not take into consideration the feelings of the other person. At the beginning of the marriage trust is present, but as time moves on, issues such as: coming home late; spending time away from the family; receiving questionable phone calls, mail, email or text messages causes an alarm to sound and the flag of suspicion to surfaces. The issue of trust enters the picture.

It appears that Jesus’ disciples trusted Him and obeyed what He said. He had called them into service and they accepted the call. Each one left their worldly means of livelihood to follow Him. He called them to be “fisher of men” and then taught them what it meant and how it was to be done. He sent them out to preach the message of repentance. They placed their trust in Him.

Then one day “Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples” (John 6:3). He knew rest and relaxation was needed for Him and for the disciples. As He talked to the disciples, Jesus looked out upon the great multitude of people who came to listen to what He had to say and to see the signs He might bring forth. Then he asked Philip this question: “Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?” (v. 5).