I Trust You, Lord… I Think
by Barrett Vanlandingham
(September 20, 2007)

A young person recently wrote these words on a public diary on the internet: “I love God, I really do. I will never stop loving him. Do I trust him? That is where I am having a problem. I want to trust. I try so hard to not question. In the end I am only human.”
The following is some of what I wrote back: Trusting in the Lord is difficult at times because just we don't understand everything, yet. For instance, we really don’t have the full picture of what our life on earth will seem like after we get to heaven. Yes, we know heaven is a worthy goal, and we know life on earth is nothing compared to the joys of heaven. But because we’re human and not spirit, we really cannot comprehend our reward in relation to our struggles.
It's easy to read about trust in the Bible (Proverbs 3:5-6), “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
but living it is one of the most difficult challenges we face as Christians.
Lots of great men and women in the Bible had difficulty with trusting God:
1) Esther was afraid the king would kill her if she stood up for God's chosen people.
2) Gideon always wanted God to give him a sign that He was really with him.
3) Peter actually walked on water but then sank when he took his eyes off Jesus.
4) Sarah and Abraham laughed when God told them they would have a son at age 90 and 100.
5) Moses tried to talk God out of choosing him, and later got frustrated and struck the rock instead of speaking to it as he was commanded.
6) Thomas knew Jesus, and still doubted the Lord’s identity.
The list goes on. Don't you think Noah probably had some doubts as he built an ark for 100-years while people laughed at him? The people had never even experienced rain, and Noah was telling them the earth would be flooded.
Stories like these are written to help grow our faith (John 20:30-32). To this day, God places a rainbow in the sky to remind us that He always keeps his promises (Genesis 9:16). God is glorified in our weaknesses. It is only when we acknowledge dependence on God that we are at our strongest, spiritually. Everyday, we should look for ways that God takes care of us, and thank Him for it. God is good and loyal to us, even when we're not. He's worthy to be praised, He's worthy of our respect and loyalty. Some day, everything will make sense. The writer of 1 John 3:2-3 possibly struggled with issues of trust and doubt.
“2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”
The fact is, if we believe in God at all, we must trust Him. We can either go through life’s struggles and into eternity with Him, or without. That is one choice we get to make.