Do You Really Trust In God?

 

Proverbs 3:5 –6.  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

 

What does it mean when we trust in someone? Trust can mean several things, it means reliance on the integrity or justice of a person, or confidence in some quality, feature or attribute of someone. It means a confident expectation or hope, to have faith or confidence in something or someone.

 

Does this describe your trust in God? Do you have complete reliance on His integrity?  Do you have a confident expectation that He will take care of you, meet your needs?

 

Let’s Look at someone in the Bible who did completely trust in God.

 

Genesis 22:1-2,6-13:  “And it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham. And he said, Here am I.  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah. And offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of….. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. And they went both of them together.  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father. And he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold, the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?  And Abraham said, God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son. So they went both of them together.  And they came to the place which God had told him of. And Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.  And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of Jehovah called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am.  And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.  And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.”

 

This is an important Bible lesson in many ways.

We have always been taught to look at it as the best example of faith, having complete trust in God.

-- Living Bible

Hebrews 11:17-19:  “While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac, and was ready to slay him on the altar of sacrifice;  yes, to slay even Isaac, through whom God had promised to give Abraham a whole nation of descendants! He believed that if Isaac died God would bring him back to life again; and that is just about what happened, for as far as Abraham was concerned, Isaac was doomed to death, but he came back again alive!”

 

Abraham was going to kill his only son, and offer him for a sacrifice, the one who he had believed for and trusted God for, even as an old man, past the age of having children.

Abraham was going to sacrifice his only son, just because God told him to.  He was going to do away with the only son He had, because God told Him to.

Why?

Because Abraham trusted completely in God and His abilities.

He didn’t question God, He didn’t ask God if He was sure this is what He wanted to do.

He didn’t ask God why he was supposed to offer Isaac.   He didn’t suggest other possibilities or remind God Isaac was his only son, and that God had promised to bless him through Isaac.
NO!  Abraham just got up the next morning and did what God told Him to do.

Abraham’s trust in God was so complete that He knew that if Isaac died God would

raise Him from the dead!  Praise God!

 

But there is another side to this event that we very rarely ever study.

What about Isaac?

 

Genesis 22:9.  “And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.”

 

Isaac was not a small child, He was a young man, a strong healthy young man.

The Bible does not say, “Abraham wrestled Isaac to the ground and bound him.”  It says simply that He bound him and laid him on the altar.

This mean that Isaac went willingly to be sacrificed.

 

Josephus, the great Jewish Historian of the First Century tells us that Isaac went willingly.

 

“Now Isaac was of such a generous disposition as became the son of such a father, ….and said “That he was not worthy to be born at first, if he should reject the determination of God and of his father, and should not resign himself up readily to both their pleasures: since it would have been unjust if he had not obeyed, even if his father alone had resolved.”  So he went immediately to the altar to be sacrificed.”   (The Works of Josephus, Complete and Unabridged,

New Updated Version, Translated by William Whiston, Chapter 13:4 (232), Page 43.)

 

Isaac trusted in God and his father Abraham, completely.  So completely, that Abraham did not have to struggle with him or explain himself over and over.  Isaac trusted His father as His father trusted God.  Isaac was not afraid to die, if that was what God, through his father Abraham, instructed him to do.

Do you trust God, this way?   Or do you go to the Father in prayer, tell him your needs and then form a committee of you and God to solve the problem, telling Him the way you think things should be done.

 

This is not trust! Remember, trust is complete reliance on someone’s ability, a confident expectation in them. This is the way we are to trust God.  Completely !  Not half way.

1 Peter 5:7: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

 

God cares for you!  He knows what you need.  He knows what you are going through and what you will go through.  He knows how much you can be tested.

 

1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

 

And He always provides the answer.  Always, Always, Always!

 

1 Corinthians 1:9: “God is ever true to His promises, and it was by Him that you were, one and all, called into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

 

1 Corinthians 1:9: “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”

 

1 John 5:14 -15: “And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him.”

 

God is faithful to do what His Word Promises.

Get into God’s Word, Study your Bible, so that you will know what He will do for you and then you will have the confidence that what He says He will do!

 

God is Faithful to do His part we just need to do our part!

 

Remember the Words to the Old Hymn:  Trust and Obey:

 

“Trust and obey,  For there’s no other way,   To be happy in Jesus,   But to trust and obey”

 

Promise- Prayer of  Trust

 

Father God, I am your child- as Isaac trusted in You and his father, Abraham-

I place my trust in you and lean not on my on understanding.

I know that you are faithful, Father, to keep your promises.

I stand on that promise now!

I ask you to help me study Your  Word more, help me to understand what It says and the promises that You give me.

Father, I accept and receive Your Provisions for me.

I know that you will meet my need, according to your riches in Glory.

Father, I cast all my care on you and I do not take them back!

Forgive me now, Father for attempting to control the situation and not yielding to your control or listening to and accepting your answer.

I cast out doubt, unbelief, mistrust and worry. They are no longer a part of me.

I accept Your answer, Your provisions, Your promise, Lord.

Thank you for caring for me, loving me and meeting my needs.

I put my trust in you Lord, from this moment on.

 

Thank you,

In Jesus Name   Amen.

 

If you want to know for sure that you are a child of God, then I would like to invite you to earnestly pray this prayer.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Your word says, “…and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”   (Jn.6:37),   So I know You won’t cast me out, but You take me in, And I thank you for it.  You said in your Word,   "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.''     (Ro. 10:13).

I am calling on Your name,  So I know You have saved me now, You also said, “…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.”     (Ro.10:9,10).

I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification. And I confess Him now as my Lord, Because Your Word says, “… with the heart one believes to righteousness…” and I do believe with my heart, I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21),

And I am saved!            Thank You, Lord!

I can now truthfully say,  I see myself as a born again child of God!

 

                                                             Glory to God!!!!          Amen.