Trust - No. 36

“If you don’t trust the surgeon, you probably won’t show up for the surgery” - Scott Dohner

The original lie satan used in the Garden of Eden as his first attack on humanity was to cause Eve to doubt whether God was trustworthy. Ever since then, the deceiver has continued to use the same attack on all of us. What Eve did when she ate the forbidden fruit was her attempt at taking control of her own life back from God. Often, when we are presented with the lie that God can’t be trusted, we do what Eve did, we agree with the deceiver and find ourselves trying to take control instead of surrendering it. The central question for all of us is, are we trying to sit on the throne of our lives, or are we surrendering it to God? When we believe that God isn’t trustworthy, we inevitably begin grasping for control and find ourselves sitting in God's seat on the throne of our lives. 

The way we take control might feel very noble, perhaps even righteous. Maybe we worry about someone we love, so we decide to do everything we possibly can to help them. Or we are concerned about our job security, so we decide to work as hard as we can to ensure we don’t get cut. Or maybe we feel alone, so we do everything we can to find friends and create community. None of these are bad, in most cases, we would be applauded for taking action. But the real issue is always our heart, are we truly trusting God with that person we love, our job security, and our relationships? 

It’s much easier to see the fight for control in more obviously negative situations. When someone is in emotional pain, and they turn to addictive substances. When a person is worried about money, so they decide to steal from their partner or employer. Or when someone feels lonely so they turn to unhealthy relationships. In these situations, no one would call their actions noble or righteous, but they are just doing the same thing, trying to solve their problems on their own. Whether we take control through vices and bad life decisions or just take on more responsibility and work harder, the question is the same: Do we trust God with our lives?

Obviously, we would all encourage working harder and discourage running from pain, but are we really better off if we don’t learn to trust God? If we live a low-sin life, are respected by our community, and profess God as our savior, but never truly trust Him, then we don’t allow him in to transform our heart and mind. The central message of the gospel is transformation, and if we don’t trust, we will stand in the way of the transformation God has for us. So, are we actually better off to be a “good person” if we are not transformed? I don’t think so. In fact, I think that is a pretty good picture of what a Pharisee is. 

A critical part of our journey of transformation is the restoration of our trust in God so that we have the courage to get off the throne of our lives and onto the altar, so He can sit on the throne. If we don’t trust God, we will never surrender control, and we definitely won’t climb up on the altar to allow the great surgeon to renovate our hearts and minds.

About 10 years ago, I was reading some of the promises of God, and I closed the Bible and said out loud, “Well, that is not what I have seen to be true.” I heard a voice in my heart and mind ask back, “Are you going to trust your own experiences or what I say to be true?” I was immediately convicted. I saw that I had built a case against God based on my own experiences, and it was keeping me from trusting Him. So I said, “I choose to believe your promises over my own experiences.” I heard a loud pop in my right ear and then immediately got vertigo for the first time in my life, and it lasted for 24 hours. I joke that choosing to believe God’s promises over my experiences broke my brain. Since then, God has rewritten my story and shown me His faithfulness where I had once doubted Him. Every situation where I thought He wasn’t trustworthy, He has shown me He was actually there with me, protecting and guiding me. We must allow God to show us His trustworthiness in the broken parts of our stories. If we allow Him to, He will show us His faithfulness and cause deep wells of trust to arise in us. 

So many people fake their way through these situations, trying to convince themselves that God is trustworthy because they believe it is a sin to think otherwise. In order to heal our broken trust with God, we have to be brutally honest with ourselves and God about the ways we do not trust Him and the evidence we have against Him. He already knows, the question is, do we? Or are we trying to convince ourselves of something we struggle to believe? 

As a new year begins, we can choose to focus on so many priorities: fitness goals, business goals, family goals, and financial goals. What if 2026 was the year we learned to trust God in a much deeper way? 

Please join me in prayerfully pondering these questions. 

• Do you believe that the promises of God that you read about in the Bible are true for you?

• Does your story have parts where you feel let down or abandoned by God?

• How would you live differently if you had complete trust in God as your provider, protector, healer, savior, and guide?

Prayer

God, I confess that I struggle to truly trust you and your promises. At times, I have felt hurt, abandoned, and confused by you. I ask you to come and heal the parts of my story that feel broken and where you seemed distant. I ask you to write a new story in my heart about your relationship with me. I give you the evidence I have that convinces me I can’t trust you completely in every area of my life. Forgive me for trying to take back control. I want you to be the one sitting on the throne of my life. 

If you would like some guidance in rewriting your story and healing broken trust with God, respond to this email, and I would love to talk with you.

- John Walt

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