Why should I trust in God and how can I learn to trust in Him?
God does not lie or even change His mind, as men often do. Balaam, who was not a follower of God, but knew who He was, said in Numbers 23:19, "God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?" We have the witness of someone who didn't follow God that His character is excellent. God doesn't lie, He doesn't change His mind, and He is powerful enough to do whatever He has said. This sounds like a statement that God can be trusted. And the statement was made by someone who didn't follow God! But let's look at statements elsewhere in the Bible. Paul said, in 2 Timothy 1:12, "But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me." Even though he suffered because of his faith, Paul trusted in God. Paul was convinced that God would not let him down. In Romans 8:28, Paul made an equally strong statement in showing that God is worthy of our trust. Paul said, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (NASB). God is not only able to keep things for an individual, but He causes all things to work together for good for many. This care and oversight is good reason to trust God.But that leaves the question of how we learn to do that. Trusting God is a normal consequence of getting to know Him. If we try to trust Him but don't get to know Him, we'll fail miserably. We cannot trust someone we don't know. We may trust certain things about them, but we won't trust them. So the question of how we can learn to trust God becomes a question of how we can get to know Him. The first step to getting to know God is to accept Jesus as our savior (if you aren't sure whether you've been saved by Jesus, see our article at https://www.compellingtruth.org/how-can-I-be-saved.html). Then it becomes a matter of growing in our Christian life through prayer and Bible study. Initially, we may trust God only a little, and there will be huge parts of our lives where we will not trust. As we grow in our Christian life, we will trust God more and more. We will not increase in trusting because we try harder; we will increase in trusting because we know Him better and are living closer to Him.
How can we turn worries and problems over to God?
How can I trust that God really is in control? Is God in control?
What should I do to increase my faith?
What does it mean to submit to God?
How can I come to really know God?
Truth about the Christian Life
