“There’s an incredible phrase in Hebrews: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” (italics mine) This statement shows us the path we must take. Only by trusting can we truly please God! If our primary motive is pleasing God, we’ll never please Him enough and we’ll never learn trust. Pleasing God is a good desire. It just can’t be our primary motivation or it will imprison our hearts … When our primary motive becomes trusting God, however, we suddenly discover there is nothing in the world that pleases Him more! Until you trust God, nothing you do will please God.” The Cure, Lynch, McNicol, Thrall. Trust is the verb form of the noun faith.

I bet if you’re a parent or grandparent you’ve experienced something like this picture. I know I have. And sometimes I’ve been surprised that my grandchild has trusted me so explicitly.

But I am a child too, a child of God. And I think this pictures what God desires from me, complete trust. A willingness to bring all of me and cast myself into his arms.

Cast myself into his arms or Relying on God to do something I cannot do.

But so often, I want to DO. So often I want to FIX; I want to have THE ANSWER; sometimes I even want to be the AUTHORITY, especially a MOM authority. And in each case my focus is inward, on me.

Jesus says to the believing Jews, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32. But … the caveat! The context is in the previous verse. The word abide in John 8:31 can be defined as walking in obedience and continue believing or walking in obedience by trusting.

Only KNOWING the truth does not set us free.
TRUSTING THE TRUTH WE KNOW is what sets us FREE!

I’m learning, there is nothing more potent than trust.
Truth cannot transform without trust.
Love cannot be experienced without trust.
Love cannot be offered without trust.
Community cannot be leveraged without trust.
Pleasing God does not happen without trust.
Character is not developed without trust.

I was stomping around our kitchen one afternoon. I.WAS.MAD! I don’t remember about what. My husband was there too. I barked, Do you even believe I love Jesus? Bill smiled, came to me, and embraced me in a big hug. Of course I do, he responded gently. I melted. Because I trust my husband, I trusted the love he offered. And whatever I was mad about dissipated.

Almost every day I pray, God, what would it look like to trust You today? When I know what I’m expecting the day to hold, I pray more specifically, God what would it look like to trust You today at the neighborhood coffee, for example. Sometimes I hear God’s immediate whisper. Sometimes I say amen and I don’t know how God is going to answer.

How can you please God today with your trust?

“And without faith (trust) it is impossible to please him (God) …”
Hebrews 11:6

Lucy has obviously learned to trust.

Copyright: Sue Tell, March 2022