It’s easy to say we trust God, but do we really? True trust means no worry, no taking back what you surrendered. True trust means peace. No matter what.

In our last episode, Ginny Yttrup joined us to talk about surrendering to God, and in the comments on the post we talked about how hard surrender can be and one of the things Ginny posted was: “Surrender is a walk of trust.” She nailed it. One short little sentence, very big idea. Because what she was saying was trusting is a prerequisite of surrendering. How can you surrender anything to God if you don’t deep in your gut trust Him?

We all THINK we trust God, but if we do, why do we worry, fret, take back what we’ve surrendered? Why do we struggle to find peace?

What is trust?

* New Oxford American Dictionary: “To believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of”

* New Oxford American Dictionary: “Have faith or confidence”

* Webster “To rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of”

* Webster “To place confidence, depend, hope”

If we’re talking about trusting God, we have to ask: Is God trustworthy?

Can we hope in Him?

Rely on Him?

Is He strong enough to do what He says He’ll do?

Sure it’s easy to say He is…on the surface, but what about the deep places? We talk on this podcast about the deep having different meanings, and often we talk about the place of struggle, but the deep is also a place of deep relationship with God. Deep abiding. Deep knowing. Deep communing. Deep…trust. If we want that kind of relationship with God, then we better settle the question in the deepest part of our being. Is God trustworthy? Because that’s going to affect everything going forward.

Is He trustworthy/truthful?

How do you decide? You look at what He says and does. What’s His track record?

Moses, at the end of his life, before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the promised land, reviews for them everything God had done. He gives them their history so that they can remember God’s track record.

* “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”   Deuteronomy 7:7-9

Joshua does the same thing at the end of his life:

*  “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.”  Joshua 23:14

And God is still keeping His promises, like the promise of sending us a savior in Jesus:

* “From [David’s] descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised.”  Acts 13:23

So the evidence in Scripture proves that God is trustworthy, but what about strength?

Is He strong enough to do what He says?

Daniel chapter 3 talks about Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego in the furnace in Babylon:

* Nebuchadnezzar makes a big statue and forces everyone to worship it, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse, and they’re brought before Nebuchadnezzar who’s furious at this rebellion.

* He gives them a final chance and the consequences: “…if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.