What does it mean to put your trust in God?
Most people believe that God is a myth and for that reason, anyone who claims to trust in God is actually wasting their time as there is no God.
A lot of atheists and philosophers have propounded different school of thoughts that seeks to question the existence of God. You cannot hope in something or someone you don’t believe exist or believe has the power to resolve the issue you are faced with.
For instance, there was a four-year-old child who grew up without knowing her dad however she was always the first to tell anyone that cared to listen that her dad traveled and will be back soon.
When an event happened in school her dad was always absent, the little girl’s classmates asked her why her dad was never present and she always responded that he traveled and will be back soon.
She has never seen her dad before but she had hope that he will be back. I’m certain that this was something her mom told her and she strongly believed it even though it been over four years.
The little girl was able to hold fast to her hope because she believed her mom, you can’t claim to put your trust in God when you don’t even believe that he exists.
Believing in the existence of God is the most important step to take towards building your hope in him.
In this article, we will discuss the meaning of hope, how to apply it to our daily activities, and the ways to improve our trust in God.
What is Hope(trust in God)
According to the English dictionary, hope is the feeling of trust, confidence, belief, or expectation that something wished for a can or will happen.
However putting your hope in God is more than just a feeling, it is actually a decision to depend on God despite the present situation or challenge you are faced with.
When someone says they hope that you can deliver accurately on a job, they actually mean that they chose to believe that against all odds you will successfully complete a task and give them positive feedback.
Hope is a choice, you can make the decision either to hope on someone or something, it is all up to you to make this decision.
Just like the atheists choose to believe that there is no God that the same way a person can decide to believe that God exists and he never fails those that put all their hope in him.
It is so much easier to put your hope in someone that actually cares about you than totally depending on humans that may be unreliable. Your family is friends may really want to help out but sometimes things don’t always go the way it’s planned.
With God your hope is secured, he is always readily available to aid his children whenever they are in need. He expects us to believe in his ability to provide, protect and rescue us from anything we might be faced with.
The relationship between belief and hope(trust in God)
The bible clearly stated in John 3:16 that
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son and anyone who believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life”.
The keyword in this passage is “believe” you cannot claim to put your trust in God when you struggle to believe his existence or all the wondrous works he had done.
If you do not believe that your parents have the ability to attend to your needs you will see no reason to ask them. I.e even though they have the available resources to cater to your need, the fact that you don’t believe that they can resolve the issue will stop you from asking them).
How can they magically know what you need when you don’t even believe that they can provide it.
Most people attribute their lack of belief to a time when God responded to the late or never answered them at all. Is this really true? Is God ever late? Does he really stay silent when we need him to intervene?
The answer to the questions can be positive or negative, is strictly based on the individual who is asked the question.
I believe that most times the way we want God to answer a particular request is completely different from the way he does and most times because the answer wasn’t the way we expected it, we completely believe that God doesn’t exist or he doesn’t answer us.
A friend of mine was constantly praying to God for direction, she was studying a medical course in school. However she wasn’t quite sure that it was where God wanted her to be. She kept on praying and also asked us to pray about this with her.
The more we prayed, the more she failed her courses in the present field of study. She read very hard and tried her best to do better but she continued failing her courses until she was asked to withdraw from the university.
Of course, she was disappointed, her parents were unhappy and she felt like she has completely failed them.
She was so angry with God that she forgets that he just answered her prayer but not in the exact way she was expecting.
Two years later she took up a course in business and she is doing exceptionally well in her choice of study.
God answers us in different ways, his ways and thought are completely different from ours, and as his children that is something, we should always remember.
No matter the circumstances we are faced with, it is important that we hold firm to our belief in God, we should not give up on God cause he will never give up on us.
Always remember that you may not understand the way the lord is working but your belief in his ability to do all things will keep you rooted in the hope you have in him.
3 Factors that cause people to disbelieve God
Belief is the most limiting factor that affects the hope we have in God. If we can truly work on increasing our ability to believe God despite the situations we are faced with, then our hope in God will bloom bountifully.
1.Unanswered prayers: The bible serves as our major guide, it tells us what to do when we are faced with difficult situations, it educates us on the perfect way to live our lives, and also imbibe on us long-standing morals and ethics that are acceptable to God.
The bible says in James that our prayers are not answered because we pray amidst. Look back at those prayers you made that weren’t answered and compare them with the prayers that were answered.
Study them closely and try to find out what was wrong with the prayer;
- Was it selfish?
- Was it something you actually needed at that point in your life?
- How did you make the prayer?
- Were you fervent enough in prayer?
- Did you cease praying immediately the answers were not forthcoming?
- Did you use it as an ultimatum to determine your faith?
Most times we make a lot of mistakes when we pray, it is important that we ask the Holy Spirit to teach us how to pray rather than blaming God for blatantly refusing to answer us.
- Popular opinions: There are so many popular opinions that contradict God’s word and most people believe these opinions rather than what God says in his word.
The most popular opinion I hear people say is “heaven helps those who help themselves” Wow!! Is that really true? I mean if I can actually help myself then there is no need for heaven to help me right?
Is just like going to the hospital to tell the doctor that you are sick but you can treat yourself! Why then did you go to the doctor in the first place? If you can help yourself just go ahead and treat yourself the doctor has other ill patients to attend to.
The bible says in Psalms that:
“I will lift my eyes to the hill from whence cometh my help, my help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth”.
This is not the prayer of someone that can help themselves rather it prayer if someone turns to God for help knowing that God is his source.
Popular opinions can cripple one’s belief in God, ensure that you scrutinize popular opinions with the bible. If it contradicts what God says then you should not believe it.
- Personal decision: Some people have just chosen to disbelieve God not because they don’t understand his work or his great deeds rather because they don’t care about it.
Most of these people grew up around people who claimed to care so much about God however the way their life turned out was not really pleasing or satisfying hence this set of people resolved to stay clear of God in order to avoid being like those people they once knew.
The truth is most people that claim to know God are actually very ignorant about his work, the bible says my people perish because of lack of wisdom. They claim to know God but they don’t understand the workings of God.
The bible says in John;
“My sheep hear my voice and they listen” you can claim to know God but not listen to his instructions and directives. Happy is the man that listens to the voice of the lord, he prospers in his dealings and even when he falls seven times he will definitely rise again.
If you have made a personal decision not to believe God based on what you have seen or experienced, I strongly hope you reconsider your decision because those that truly trust in God and understand his principles are always successful.
How to put your trust in God
There is a big difference between claiming to put your hope in God and actually doing it. There are some daily activities you can engage in to boost your hope in God. Try to imbibe these activities into your daily routine and experience the difference that comes with putting your hope in God.
1.Learn to pray:
Jesus teaches us how to pray in Matthew, he gave us the format of the Lord’s prayer.
If you struggle with prayer it is important that you ask the holy spirit to empower you and teach you how to pray.
There are so many books have been written on prayer, you can visit a bookstore close to you and learn to pray based on the revelations other people have received.
2. Read your Bible:
According to the bible says in 1 Timothy “Study to show yourself approved” It also says in Joshua that “the book of the law should not depart from your mouth rather you should meditate on it day and night”.
God’s word is our guide, it strengthens us when we face difficulties and feel like God is silent. We have the word of God right in our homes, dwelling among us therefore we should try to read the bible daily.
Faith cometh by hearing God’s word. Reading the bible you are fills you with strength to face every battle or hard times you might encounter. The Bible explains God’s love to us. This helps us to hope in God even when everything things seem difficult.
3. Join a believing community:
The bible says that “iron sharpeneth iron” popular opinions even says that “no man is an island”.
To build your hope in God, you need to be around people who are steadfast in their hope in God. Be around people who have gone through hard circumstances but have been saved because they kept their hope in God.
should not be mere words, it should be practical and deeply rooted on God’s word.
Takeaway
We cannot put our hope in something we do not believe in.
If we say we believe in God, we should learn to put our trust in God in every situation.
There is a big difference between claiming to put your hope in God and actually doing it. Our hope should not be mere words, it should be practical and deeply rooted in God’s word.
