Chapter 3 — Trust

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart…”

Proverbs 3:5a

We all live by faith. We exercise trust every day, most often without even being conscious that we are doing it. We sit down on a chair believing that it will hold us. We eat our breakfast, trusting that it will strengthen us for the day’s duties. We send our children to school, confident they will be well cared for. Trust is part of everyday life.

Our spiritual lives are no different. Each day, hour, and even minute we have opportunities to trust. Most often it is a choice between trusting what God says in his Word and trusting the doubts placed in our minds by the world, the flesh and the devil. We either trust God or our doubts.

The great antidote to stress, fear and anxiety is trust. When we learn to doubt our doubts and place our trust in what God says, we are filled with a confidence that overcomes the lurking shadows in our heart.

At times we hesitate to do what the writer of this proverb tells us. Trusting the Lord with all our heart is far from automatic. We more naturally trust in the things we can see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. Believing in the invisible God is less natural. Perhaps that’s why Christianity is called a walk of faith.

To walk by faith we need reminders of why he is worthy of our trust. In the following section we will discuss some reasons to doubt our doubts and believe what God says in his Word.

“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Mark 4:40

Our Lord had completed a taxing day of ministry. He had ministered to the needs of the crowds, and his body cried out for rest. He slept in the boat as the disciples rowed to the other side of Galilee’s Sea. As they moved across the Sea, a storm arose.

It’s important to note that the disciples were eagerly doing what Jesus had told them to do when the storm struck. Yet though they began well, their time on the sea ended in a sharp rebuke from the Savior: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

What was at stake in the storm? What did the disciples have to lose? Obviously, they feared for their very lives. They feared for their well-being. How confusing this must have been! They were in complete step with the Lord; they were doing what he had called them to do, but now their lives were at risk.

One of the reasons following Christ gets confusing is that there are times when we are sure of his leading, yet circumstances arise that endangers everything we believe we are called to do. Jesus is testing our faith.

We are not told what Jesus expected the disciples to do. Were they to row harder, or rebuke the storm? Scripture does not say. Yet one thing is clear: Jesus expected them not to be afraid. He expected them to trust. Yet the disciples did not trust. The disciples’ faith needed to grow, so Jesus used a platform of terror to reveal new aspects of his glory and power. Their fear of the storm became a gateway to a new insight—Jesus has authority over the storm.

What makes you afraid? What storms are placing you at risk? Learn to doubt your doubts about his care. Perhaps Jesus is taking you into the storm so that you can learn new aspects of his authority. He is inviting you to not be afraid.

Prayer starter: Lord, the threats in my life right now are….. Thank you that you have all authority over what they can do to me.