Trusting Hashem

It is important to note how vehement the Bible is on the aspect of trust in God. Jeremiah writes plainly and bluntly what God tells him: Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength; and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness; a land of salt without inhabitants (Jer. 17:5, 6). The Lord is equally forthright when He speaks through the prophet Isaiah saying, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help (Egypt is a metaphor for the world); and who rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord (Isa. 31:1). Both, our Lord Jesus and the writers of the New Testament were as emphatic on this aspect of trust in God too. If there is anything Jesus repeatedly rebuked, it was unbelief.

I wrote in an earlier piece titled, “The Righteous shall live by Faith”, that God has commanded us to depend on Him completely in every aspect of our life—not just for salvation and redemption but every aspect, be it our walk to live righteous and holy or our dependence on Him for our needs and life’s decisions. For He says again through Jeremiah, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose confidence is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit (Jer. 17:7, 8).

The problem with us Christians is that while we know how important it is to trust God, we are either too afraid to let go of our own conventional wisdom and logic that we have imbibed from the ways of the world or there is a lurking doubt that says, “What if I commit all my decisions in trust and obedience to God and nothing happens?” I believe it is a bit of both that brings hesitation to take the plunge into the waiting arms of our Father in heaven. We can shout from the rooftop that we serve a God whose love towards us in Christ Jesus is unfailing, unending, inseparable and immeasurable yet whimper excuses why we cannot trust God completely. We can proclaim at every Sunday service our trust in the only true, faithful, mighty and wise God but spend the rest of the week working with all the possible schemes and tricks we know to secure ourselves and our children.

I met a brother in Christ a few days ago and I listened as he shared with me his fears of rising costs; his concern of unaffordably high education fees for his children a few years down; and the eventual reason why he and his wife needed to work, despite the obvious attention the children required. I looked hard for something that he shared that showed me that there was a difference between what he said and what a person of the world says. Sadly, except for the cursory “I trust in God to help,” or “With God’s grace we are managing,” interspersed in the conversation now and then, I could not find a difference. It was plainly evident that though he said that he trusts in God, his trust was in mankind and his strategy was of the flesh and his strength; and like in the parable of the sower, the cares of the world and the decietfulness of riches was choking his trust in God and in His Word (Mt. 13:22).

A time may soon come when just as Pharaoh made life difficult for the Hebrews; or when Israel was plundered by the Assyrians and the Jews by the Babylonians; or when the Romans confiscated everything that belonged to the Christians; we too could be ‘victims’ of strange laws that may be introduced in the world. At that time, all our conventional plans and strategies will collapse. Yet the ones who have put their trust in the Lord will “not fear when the heat comes”.

However the real reason for this writing is to delve deeper. There is a trust that God is looking for that clings to Him so tightly—a trust that never leaves Him nor is dismayed or discouraged—that even when things do not work out the way we hope it should, we would still hold our confidence in this never-failing Hashem while all the time rejoicing in Him. Habakkuk conveys this kind of trust beautifully when he writes: Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines; though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food; though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls; yet I will exult in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation (Hab. 3:17, 18).

It is a trust in God that has learnt contentment while still being expectant. It is a trust that has learnt to surrender to God’s will while still knowing that because we have put our faith in Him, He will guide us into His best. It is a trust that recognises that though I have nothing in my control, I am safe because my God is in control. Paradoxical though it may appear, the truth is that I am in the best place I can possibly be. The eternal God is my refuge and underneath are His everlasting arms (Deut. 33:27).