Trust
"Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."
– Psalm 9:10
Last week I shared about the power of prayer as we kicked off21 days of prayer at Church of the Highlands and entered an intentional season of seeking God as we prepare for a full and faith-filled fall. Prayer at its core is an act of trust. Every time we bring our plans, our anxieties, and our hopes before God and surrender them to His care, we are making a declaration that God, I trust You more than I trust myself. That declaration is not always easy. But it is always the right move. And it leads us naturally into this week's word: Trust.
Merriam-Webster defines trust as firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, and character of someone or something. Biblical trust goes much further than that. It is complete surrender and reliance on God. It is believing in His faithfulness, placing full confidence in His character, and standing firmly on His promises even when our circumstances seem to contradict them. It is the posture that says God I cannot see the whole picture, but I know You can, and I choose to follow Your lead rather than my own.
Three Principles of Trusting God More Fully
Trust Requires Releasing Control: Here is the tension that every driven and high-capacity leader knows intimately. There is a very fine line between taking responsible ownership of our roles and trying to control outcomes that were never ours to control in the first place. Most of us are wired to manage our environments, anticipate problems, and fix things before they break. Those are genuinely valuable leadership instincts. But when those instincts cross over into anxiety-driven control, they reveal areas where we are not yet fully trusting God. I have wrestled with this my entire life. By God's grace, I have grown significantly in this area. But He keeps showing me there is always more room for growth through surrender. Jesus addressed this directly in Matthew 6:34 when He said: "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself."Worry is simply a symptom of misplaced trust. It is what happens when we are carrying something God never asked us to carry. And micromanaging people and circumstances in our businesses, our families, and our ministries. It is a form of practical unbelief that limits not only our own potential but the potential of the people around us. God is our Good Shepherd. He is trustworthy in every way, and He desires the best for us. The more we release control to Him, the more we access the power, love, and sound mind He promises."Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6.
Trust Grows as We Know God More Deeply: Here is the insight that has been most transformative in my own journey of learning to trust. The depth of our trust in anyone, God or another person, is almost always directly proportional to how well we actually know them. When I truly know someone's character, their track record, and the motivations of their heart, I can trust them generously. When I do not know them well, my trust is naturally guarded and limited. It is the same with God. If we only know things about Him from a distance, if He feels more like a concept than a relationship, it will be very difficult to trust Him with all of our heart, as Proverbs 3:5 calls us to do. But when we truly know Him through consistent time in His word, through prayer, through the history of His faithfulness in our own lives, trusting Him becomes more natural for us. This is precisely why our season of focused prayer matters so much right now. Prayer is not just us talking to God. It is another way for us to know Him more deeply. And the deeper we know Him, the more freely and fully we trust Him. "My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me" John 10:27.
Trust Generously and Watch What God Does: The principle of generous trust applies not only to our relationship with God but to our relationships with the people around us. As we grow in trusting God more fully, something remarkable begins to happen: we naturally become more generous in extending trust to others as well. We stop micromanaging. We start releasing and empowering others. We begin to see the people on our teams, in our families, and in our communities as capable and trustworthy rather than potential problems to be managed. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 3:17 that as we trust in Christ, our roots grow deep in His love and keep us strong. Trust is like a muscle; the more we use it, the greater our capacity for it becomes. And as we extend trust generously to others, we often cultivate the very trustworthiness we are hoping to see in them. Yes, people will disappoint us at times. That is the reality of leading and loving imperfect human beings. But trusting generously over time bears far more fruit than controlling relationships ever will. "Whoever sows generously will also reap generously" 2 Corinthians 9:6.
As we move through this season of prayer and preparation for the fall, I want to encourage you to let trust be the companion discipline to prayer. Pray honestly and then trust God with what you have prayed. Bring Him your plans and then release them into His hands. Lean into the people He has placed around you and extend trust generously. The abundant life Jesus promised is not found in tighter control. It is found in deeper surrender to the One who holds everything together and whose plans for us are always good.
Challenge Question: Where in your life right now do you need to loosen your grip and trust God or someone close to you more generously? Is there an area of your leadership, your family, or your personal walk with God where He is inviting you to move from control to trust this week?
Prayer: Father, you are completely trustworthy in every way, and Your plans for us are always good. Forgive us for the times we have chosen to worry and control over trust and surrender. Help us know You so deeply and so personally that trusting You with all our hearts becomes the most natural response to every situation we face. In this season of prayer and preparation, give us the courage to release what we have been holding too tightly and the faith to follow wherever You lead. May our trust in You overflow into generous trust toward the people You have placed in our lives. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Faith equals trust and trust equals freedom. Lean into God with everything you have this week and watch Him make your paths straight. Have a blessed week!