Trust - part 1

This idea came into my head today: Choosing to trust God in my daily life is an act of worship - it is my response to revelation of God's goodness and faithfulness. I kinda like that.

Recently God has been speaking to me a lot about trust. I thought I'd try to write a few blog posts on the subject. This is such a vast subject, and I don't pretend to be any kind of expert on this. But I thought I'd share some ideas, feel free to comment with thoughts, questions, etc. In fact I'd love this to be more of a conversation than a monologue.

So, lets begin. Firstly, i guess you could replace the word trust with faith, because trust and faith are pretty synonymous (the same thing). But in a recent conversation with some friends in a sauna in Lapland, one guy said that he liked to use the word 'trust' rather than 'faith'. His reasons were partly related to the way 'faith' has become part of our spiritual jargon. 'Faith' has been used by some as a kind of magical substance, and if you somehow get enough of it, then God will grant you your 'wishes'. 'Faith' has also been used as a term for religion or beliefs, and therefore your 'faith' can be an abstract collection of strongly held opinions. Finally, the word 'trust' seems to suggest more clearly that there is some kind of relationship involved. I'm not saying we can't use the word 'faith' and I will continue to use it; however, I feel 'trust' communicates the idea better, and is also easier to understand for those who aren't insiders on our religious terms.

So, on to my actual subject. Trust is a pretty foundational part of what it is to follow Jesus. It is not really possible to walk through the ups and downs of following Him without some level of trust. On my journey with Jesus I've had some pretty full on experiences of having to trust God. When I lost my suitcase, got stuck in Israeli security, and then spent the night on a bench in Jerusalem I had to choose several times to trust that God would look after me (for more on that see http://john-allison.blogspot.com/2010/02/getting-to-israel.html).
Matt 6:25-34 and Philippians 4:6-7 both talk about choosing not to worry, but instead pray and trust God. Psalm 37:5-8 also talks about the same thing. But this isn't always easy, especially for those of you who aren't so 'laid back'.

So, how do we grow in trust? This was a question I was asking before I went to America, with no idea how I'd get there. I was finding it hard to trust that God could make it happen. Then this idea came into my head: you can't really trust someone you don't know. So, if I wanted to trust God, I'd have to get to know God better.

As with so many areas, intimacy with God is the key. When we really know that God is always good and that His love never ends, it's a whole lot easier to trust Him. But it does involve a long (probably life-long) process.

Recently I was looking out of the window at a tree while praying. It occurred to me that a huge amount of the tree you can't see, and in fact this is the part that gives life, sustenance, strength and stability. The phrase 'rooted and grounded in love' (Eph 3:17) has been a recurrent theme recently, and it says it so perfectly. We must be rooted and grounded in the Father's love - that will give us life, sustenance, strength and stability throughout whatever comes. This love from God will then stir up love for God and then for others (a phrase borrowed from Mike Bickle).

Roots take their time growing into the ground. Also, in a storm, a tree is either pulled out, or its roots are strengthened by the process. So in those tough times, our roots are strengthened as we are forced to press into God.

The journey of learning to trust God isn't always easy, but I'm certain that it is well worth the struggle.

Here's a song that sums it up pretty well