Trust

Many of us have trust issues, and end up wondering how much we can trust God.  Looking back at the Israelites coming out of Egypt, we see that over and over, His People had trouble believing that with each new challenge, God would come through.  They were unsure of His plan, and doubted His goodness toward them….because they did not know Him.

So, how can we know how much we can trust God?  Jesus shows us the way on this.  Jesus, who so perfectly and intimately knows His Father, trusted Him to the point of laying down His life, believing that His Father would be true to his perfect plan, and have the power to raise Him up again.  He died on the cross, putting His eternal existence in His Father’s hands, without any fear or doubt.  This declares to us  that the Father is completely 100% trustworthy. 

We often struggle against the things going on in our lives, because it doesn’t feel to us like a good plan.  Does God know what He’s doing?  But did the cross feel like a good plan to Jesus?  Did death seem like a wise plan at the time?  Couldn’t there be another way?  But again, Jesus didn’t fight God on this plan, but submitted, and trusted, and through a horrible path of beating, whipping, and crucifixion, came victory, life, resurrection.

So, looking at Jesus, we can see that while we may be led through the very valley of the shadow of death, God’s plan is good and we can trust Him to bring us through to something phenomenal on the other side.  It can be really hard to thank God for our current circumstances and troubles, because we can’t see what is on the other side, but we can follow our Shepherd, Jesus, who already has our victory, and best destiny, in being conformed to the image of Christ and gaining eternal life. The Hebrew word for trust, בָּטַח "batach", has with it the associated meanings of clinging or attaching oneself, to make secure and fearless, to have hope and confidence, to be safe. We can have trust in the goodness of God.

The Hebrew letters of the word batach show us that in God's house or tent, we are surrounded by a protective wall. In Biblical times, people lived in walled cities and found protection and security within. We can turn to God and find a secure hiding place in Him.