Trust God
Steve W. Reeves
stevesermons.blogspopt.com
INTRODUCTION:
A. A
man was standing on the edge of a cliff looking over a deep valley below.
Suddenly he lost his balance and fell over the cliff. As he fell he reached out and grabbed a tree
branch jutting out over the precipice below. As he hung there he cried out, “Can
anyone help me?” Suddenly he heard a voice saying, “I am God. I can help you but
you must put your complete trust in Me.” The man quickly replied, “O Lord, I trust you.
I really trust you. Help me.” God said, “Do you really trust me?” "I sure do,” said the
man. God replied, “If you really trust me, let go.” The man thought for a moment and
cried, “Is there anyone else who can help me?”
B. In your pocket or purse there is an inscription engraved on every piece of currency or
coin you possess. The inscription, “In God We Trust” first appeared on our currency
in 1956. I wonder, “Do we really trust in God?”
1. Do we trust God when we are sick? In recent weeks I have heard many
government and medical leaders speak about the virus that is sweeping the world.
I’ve listeneed to commentators and journalists, politicians and pundits. Not once
have I heard any of our officials say, “We need to pray about this.”
2. Do we trust God when we are out of work? Separated from family or friends? Do
we trust God in times of loss or sorrow?
C. Here is what Solomon with his God-given wisdom said. “Trust in the Lord with all
your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways
acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
1. Why is it so difficult to trust God?
a. We are too self-sufficient. We think we have everything figured out on our own.
We rely on human wisdom and strength (See 1 Corinthtians 1 for Paul’s
comparison of human wisdom with the foolishness of God). .
b. We rely on others. It is great to have family and friends to depend on but there
are times in life when the best efforts of others cannot save us.
3. Trust is thwarted by worry, insecurity and fear. There are certain
things that cannot exist together. Trust and worry are two of them. This was the
message of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25-33).
C. In 1 Samuel 30, Solomon’s father, David, had an experience that personifies
the trust referred to in Proverbs 3:5-6.
a. David had been forced to flee Israel because of the jealous rage of King Saul.
b. For a period of time he lived among the Philistines, enemies of Israel
and the people of Goliath whom David had killed. When the Philistine leaders
learned that David and his men were among them they insisted that he leave.
c. David and his 600 men returned to Ziklag where they had left their families. They
had been away from home a long time. They were tired, dirty and hungry. What
happened to them was a real test of trust.
D. Notice four comparisons between Proverbs 3:5-6 and David’s personal
experience.
I. TRUST IN THE LORD
A. There are many venues that compete for our trust.
1. Proverbs 3:7 – “Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart
from evil.”
2. Psalm 118:8 – “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.”
3. Psalm 146:3 – “Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no
salvation.”
B. Every person’s life has a defining moment. By this I mean a time of decision, crisis
or conflict in which a person’s true allegiance is demonstrated.
1. Notice verse 1of 1 Samuel 30. “Then it happened.” This was a pivotal moment.
All of us sooner or later can point to a “Then it happened” moment.
2. A couple in Texas worked hard for years to build a successful ranch. During a
fire storm they lost everything except their cattle. The man explained, “We knew
that our faith would kick into action or we would deny everything we had ever
believed.” They began to rebuild with trust in the Lord.
3. Tim and Evelyn were a young couple in their thirties in a congregation where I
preached. In the prime of life, she was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. As the
months passed and her condition weakened there was no bitterness. We asked
God to heal her but He had other plans. With grace and courage this couple
trusted Him.
C. Upon returning to Ziklag David and his men discovered that the city had been
raided by the Amalekites who had burned it and taken the women and children into
bondage. What a defining moment in their lives.
II. DO NOT LEAN ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.
A. What did David and his men do?
1. They wept bitterly until there was no more strength in them. Their initial
impression was that their families had been killed. Remember, they did not have
copies of the Bible to read.
2. After the weeping the response of David and his men went in two opposite
directions.
a. David’s men became angry and began to question David’s leadership. Have
you ever noticed how, in times of grief and discouragement, we often call
our leaders into question? Some wanted to know why David had left the town
without a guard. Some were so angry they were ready to stone David.
b. What about David? Verse 6 says, “David sought strength in The Lord.” David
trusted God. The others were leaning on their own understanding. David
sought refuge, comfort and strength in God.
B. In times of crisis our own understanding can lead us to do very harmful things.
1. Like David’s men we might blame others.
2. Some people become embittered against God. When I was a college student I
went on a summer mission trip to London. One older woman scoffed at the
gospel by saying God would not allow the pain she had witnessed during the
Germain air assault on the city forty years earlier.
3. Many people begin grasping at the straws of their own understanding. This
always comes up short.
III. ACKNOWLEDGE HIM IN ALL YOUR WAYS
A. David sought strength in the Lord (verse 6).
1. This was the crucial moment when everything David believed was on the line.
2. The shepherd psalm, the experience with Goliath, the anointing by Samuel:
David’s entire life had come to this moment. He sought strength in the Lord.
2. There will come a time in your life when all of the landmarks that provide you
with a sense of direction and stability will be ripped away. The only guidance you
will have will not be from the landmarks of the world but from your inner
compass – your spiritual compass. In which direction will it guide you?
B. In David’s defining hour he acknowledged the Lord.
IV. HE WILL DIRECT YOUR PATHS
A. I occasionally reflect on the experiences I have had in life and ministry. It is so
evident to me that the times of my greatest productivity and peace of mind have
been when I trusted God to direct my path. The times of greatest disappointment
and anxiety are those in which I trusted my own judgment and merely invited God
to come along for the ride. This is what Jeremiah acknowledged in Jeremiah
10:29, “It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”
B. Some people have the erroneous idea that trusting God is burdensome and
confining. To the contrary, it is the most liberating and freeing thing you will ever
do. When you trust Him and acknowledge Him in all of your ways He will guide and
lead you all of the days of your life.
CONCLUSION:
A. Most of us have seen slalom skiing competitions as skiers hurtle down the slope of a
mountain weaving in and out between the flags. Can you imagine a slalom skier who
is blind? There actually are blind slalom skiers. They are paired with a sighted skier
who skies alongside them yelling “right, left, right, left” all the way down the slope.
The skier has to react with instant, precise, unhesitating obedience. Otherwise there
is complete catastrophe. This is the type of unreserved, wholehearted trust God
invites us to place in Him. Such trust will never ddisappoint you.
B. “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word. Just to rest upon His
promise. Just to know, ‘thus saith the Lord.’ Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him. How I’ve
proved him o’re and o’re. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him
more.”
C. In whom do you trust?
