What does "trust in God" mean?

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Jubilarian

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Thousands of articles and sermons tell us to “trust in God”. What does it mean? Certainly many people have “trusted” in some way but they were brutally killed . What kind of trust am I looking for? I don’t ask this question mockingly, I really need to know about the what the trust is. Thank you.
 
I would say trust that if you are brutally killed, it’s because God wants it that way. Sort of a “nothing is random, it’s all part of a plan” thing.
 
This is so relevant now. Knowing of people, Christians, dying in terror and pain as their heads were sawn off, has made trust and faith a difficulty for me in a way that I can’t ever recall before.
I’m interested in people’s comments.
Peace.
John
 
I believe it means total submission to His will and the **conviction **that He would never allow anything contrary to our ultimate well-being, even if we were unable to perceive it at the time. The primary thing is to be convinced of His love for us. Once that happens, of course we will trust.
 
I can’t see how you would say that God would," not allow anything contrary to our ultimate wellbeing." Believers suffer atrocities daily. What I get from “trust in God”, is a reference to our eternal destiny, but that is not how the phrase is used. It is used to seemingly say," hey, everything is going to work out no matter what", which as we know is frequently not the case.

I’m still not sure what it means.I can only use the phrase to say," God is with me", but it doesn’t mean the outcome of what I’m going through will necessarily be good for me. When scripture says ," all’s things work together for good for those who love God", I think it means the ultimate plan overall,but it doesn’t mean I will benefit from it while on earth.
 
To me, trust is FAITH in God.
Peter, in his epistle(2 Pet. 1)
said to ADD, or build upon your faith.
So the fundamental thing is TRUST and
upon that you can build up your faith-life!
 
GLam8833 said:
To me, trust is FAITH in God.
Peter, in his epistle(2 Pet. 1)
said to ADD, or build upon your faith.
So the fundamental thing is TRUST and
upon that you can build up your faith-life!
Click to expand...
Ok, I understand your words but whether someone says,“have faith in God” or “trust in God” the question remains. Have faith or trust that everything will work out? Saints prayed ceaselessly and horribly died. Yes we should have faith that God will take us into his care when we leave this earth but people are not using the words “faith” or"trust" in the proper context.

Also, “faith” and “trust” can have different meanings. Faith that God exists, yes! But faith or trust that all will be peachy? I don’t see it.
 
Jubilarian said:
I can’t see how you would say that God would," not allow anything contrary to our ultimate wellbeing." Believers suffer atrocities daily. What I get from “trust in God”, is a reference to our eternal destiny, but that is not how the phrase is used. It is used to seemingly say," hey, everything is going to work out no matter what", which as we know is frequently not the case.

I’m still not sure what it means.I can only use the phrase to say," God is with me", but it doesn’t mean the outcome of what I’m going through will necessarily be good for me. When scripture says ," all’s things work together for good for those who love God", I think it means the ultimate plan overall,but it doesn’t mean I will benefit from it while on earth.
Click to expand...
I’m not an expert but here are some thoughts.

First, throw away your own concept of what “my ultimate well being” is, at least if it involves anything on Earth. Winning the lottery isn’t it. Having a care free life isn’t it. Never having suffering in your life isn’t it. Having a long life isn’t it.

Second, understand that your ultimate well being is to be in Heaven.

Third, pray and ask God to make you as holy as possible (really). This is the road to Heaven, and nothing else matters.

Fourth, accept whatever happens after that, even if it involves pain, suffering, beheading, and so forth. The key to the gate of Heaven is shaped like a cross. There is no entry to Heaven without suffering.

Fifth, accept the suffering as consequences of your own sin, and offer it up for yourself and for others in conjunction with Christ’s own sacrifice for us on the cross. Take a load off his back by accepting part of the load yourself.

I suspect that God tries to arrange our lives for our ultimate good, and that mis-using our free will, we diverge from his plans. God can see our futures, and if we are currently “the holiest we will ever be on this Earth” then wouldn’t it be a good thing for us to perish right now before things get worse for us, and possibly endanger our eternal souls?

Anyway, those are my thoughts.
 
ricmat said:
I’m not an expert but here are some thoughts.

First, throw away your own concept of what “my ultimate well being” is, at least if it involves anything on Earth. Winning the lottery isn’t it. Having a care free life isn’t it. Never having suffering in your life isn’t it. Having a long life isn’t it.

Second, understand that your ultimate well being is to be in Heaven.

Third, pray and ask God to make you as holy as possible (really). This is the road to Heaven, and nothing else matters.

Fourth, accept whatever happens after that, even if it involves pain, suffering, beheading, and so forth. The key to the gate of Heaven is shaped like a cross. There is no entry to Heaven without suffering.

Fifth, accept the suffering as consequences of your own sin, and offer it up for yourself and for others in conjunction with Christ’s own sacrifice for us on the cross. Take a load off his back by accepting part of the load yourself.

I suspect that God tries to arrange our lives for our ultimate good, and that mis-using our free will, we diverge from his plans. God can see our futures, and if we are currently “the holiest we will ever be on this Earth” then wouldn’t it be a good thing for us to perish right now before things get worse for us, and possibly endanger our eternal souls?

Anyway, those are my thoughts.
Click to expand...
You really gave a great answer, and it’s helping me.I have always been of the mindset that Christianity is about self sacrifice, not what people seem to mean when they say “trust in God”. Again, it appears that phrase is used to pacify, in the sense that all will work out. It gets said as some kind of magic bullet, but usually well meaning. That was the thrust of my question.

I suppose I should trust that God is with me, but not that all will be rosy . We want to believe though that if God is with us, everything should work out, but that is not always the case…
 
Jubilarian said:
I can’t see how you would say that God would," not allow anything contrary to our ultimate wellbeing." Believers suffer atrocities daily. What I get from “trust in God”, is a reference to our eternal destiny, but that is not how the phrase is used. It is used to seemingly say," hey, everything is going to work out no matter what", which as we know is frequently not the case.

I’m still not sure what it means.I can only use the phrase to say," God is with me", but it doesn’t mean the outcome of what I’m going through will necessarily be good for me. When scripture says ," all’s things work together for good for those who love God", I think it means the ultimate plan overall,but it doesn’t mean I will benefit from it while on earth.
Click to expand...
Is earth your destiny? Reading the lives of the saints, they did suffer tremendously - both physically and internally. But they certainly were not without joy and peace - the likes of which the world will never be able to offer. We are to follow Christ in our tribulations and are told He will never give us more than we are able to handle. The Holy Spirit sanctifies and strengthens us along the way.

ricmat - Great post!!
 
Tigg said:
Is earth your destiny? Reading the lives of the saints, they did suffer tremendously - both physically and internally. But they certainly were not without joy and peace - the likes of which the world will never be able to offer. We are to follow Christ in our tribulations and are told He will never give us more than we are able to handle. The Holy Spirit sanctifies and strengthens us along the way.

ricmat - Great post!!
Click to expand...
You are missing my point. No, of course earth is not my destiny, but when the words ," trust in God " are used, I would dare to say most people apply that to an earthly situation.

The remainder of what you write is true. Trusting in God can give peace and joy, but it may not clean up all our messes in a way that is often implied.
 
Jubilarian said:
You really gave a great answer, and it’s helping me.I have always been of the mindset that Christianity is about self sacrifice, not what people seem to mean when they say “trust in God”. **Again, it appears that phrase is used to pacify, in the sense that all will work out. ** It gets said as some kind of magic bullet, but usually well meaning. That was the thrust of my question.

I suppose I should trust that God is with me, but not that all will be rosy . We want to believe though that if God is with us, everything should work out, but that is not always the case…
Click to expand...
Are we the ones to judge that the results of certain situations are the best for us or is God in His omniscience? How are we to know what positive results suffering will bring since we don’t suffer for the sake of suffering alone, but its (hopefully) redemptive end which can make our souls compliant to God? Gold is purified in fire and our souls are purified with trials. 🙂
 
Jubilarian said:
Thousands of articles and sermons tell us to “trust in God”. What does it mean? Certainly many people have “trusted” in some way but they were brutally killed . What kind of trust am I looking for? I don’t ask this question mockingly, I really need to know about the what the trust is. Thank you.
Click to expand...
That we must always trust in the Lord.
credobiblestudy.com/concordance/en/moral/that-we-must-always-trust-in-the-lord/eaca28dd-2756-4466-9d58-dd476195c125/1

That we must not trust in transitory things.
credobiblestudy.com/concordance/en/moral/that-we-must-not-trust-in-transitory-things/37aa8d71-39d3-4e32-9af8-798c7fe98da7/1

Against those who put their hope in the help of man.
credobiblestudy.com/concordance/en/moral/against-those-who-put-their-hope-in-the-help-of-man/1a61a1cc-7fec-491e-a3cd-dbe3a97493eb/1
 
Tigg said:
Are we the ones to judge that the results of certain situations are the best for us or is God in His omniscience? How are we to know what positive results suffering will bring since we don’t suffer for the sake of suffering alone, but its (hopefully) redemptive end which can make our souls compliant to God? Gold is purified in fire and our souls are purified with trials. 🙂
Click to expand...
I understand the biblical “trial by fire” concept. What I am attempting to put forth is that from a purely human perspective, losing your place of residence, your car, your job etc. does not feel like a “God is with me” moment.

You may never recover from your calamity, many don’t. Yes, trusting is a leap of faith. It may work out and it may not. There is no certainty. We can only hope and pray that we will do his will during such times, thereby paving the way for a glorified destiny. Nevertheless, your words are comforting.
 
 
Jubilarian said:
I understand the biblical “trial by fire” concept. What I am attempting to put forth is that from a purely human perspective, losing your place of residence, your car, your job etc. does not feel like a “God is with me” moment.

You may never recover from your calamity, many don’t. Yes, trusting is a leap of faith. It may work out and it may not. There is no certainty. We can only hope and pray that we will do his will during such times, thereby paving the way for a glorified destiny. Nevertheless, your words are comforting.
Click to expand...
I completely understand that our weakness and lack of trust are part of our human condition. That is why every *single *day of my life I ask our Blessed Mother to help me have a stronger faith and a greater love of God, so that no matter what may happen, I might still “trust” even though my human fear is quite natural to have. Blessings on your journey!
 
Tigg said:
I completely understand that our weakness and lack of trust are part of our human condition. That is why every *single *day of my life I ask our Blessed Mother to help me have a stronger faith and a greater love of God, so that no matter what may happen, I might still “trust” even though my human fear is quite natural to have. Blessings on your journey!
Click to expand...
Thank you and God bless you as well.
 
Jubilarian said:
Ok, I understand your words but whether someone says,“have faith in God” or “trust in God” the question remains. Have faith or trust that everything will work out? Saints prayed ceaselessly and horribly died. Yes we should have faith that God will take us into his care when we leave this earth but people are not using the words “faith” or"trust" in the proper context.

Also, “faith” and “trust” can have different meanings. Faith that God exists, yes! But faith or trust that all will be peachy? I don’t see it.
Click to expand...
Faith in God only works, Jubilarian, if we trust in Him,
“for formerly we were alienated from God, hostile in mind
and engaged in evil deeds, but now He has reconciled us
by His body of flesh thru death to present us before Him
holy and blameless and beyond finding fault, if we continue
in faith, firmly established and steadfast, not moved from the
hope held out in the Gospel, which is being proclaimed to
all creation under heaven…” Col.1:21-23
 
“Trust in God” means to be in God’s grace and submit yourself to his will by sacrificing the submittal to your own will. It is the truest way to peace, joy, and happiness.
 
Jubilarian said:
I can’t see how you would say that God would," not allow anything contrary to our ultimate wellbeing." Believers suffer atrocities daily. What I get from “trust in God”, is a reference to our eternal destiny, but that is not how the phrase is used. It is used to seemingly say," hey, everything is going to work out no matter what", which as we know is frequently not the case.

I’m still not sure what it means.I can only use the phrase to say," God is with me", but it doesn’t mean the outcome of what I’m going through will necessarily be good for me. When scripture says ," all’s things work together for good for those who love God", I think it means the ultimate plan overall,but it doesn’t mean I will benefit from it while on earth.
Click to expand...
Often times “atrocities” or suffering are for our own good. I’m not the expert on christian suffering; however, I believe it to be a form of discipline; God is just.
 
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