Is It A Lack of Faith or A Lack of Trust — Sunday Thought For The Day

For many Christians it is not a lack of faith that prevents us from seeing God work in our lives, it is a lack of trust. While we must have faith in God to be saved, having faith in Him doesn’t mean we trust Him with our lives.

God’s plan is for us to trust completely in Him for all of our needs. For a Christian, the definition of trust means trusting God and not other things. Proverbs 3:5 tells: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (KJV)

Faith on the other hand is defined as: “An unwavering and unquestioning belief that doesn’t require man’s proof, approval, validation or evidence.” I define it as such and I in no way feel that I’m diminishing or marginalizing the definition of faith as it is found in Hebrews 11:1 where we read: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (KJV)

Some may feel that I am splitting hairs or that I’m making a play on words. I assure you I’m doing neither. Whenever we lean on our own understanding we are saying that we trust ourselves more than we trust God, even if we do not realize it. We can have faith to believe that Christ is the Son of God and God in the flesh. We can have faith that He was crucified dead, buried and resurrected on the third day and that His is the only sacrifice God will accept for the forgiveness of our sins. Specific to that, we can have faith to be converted and accept Him for our salvation. But that doesn’t mean that we trust Him with our finances, etc.

How often do people not tithe because we claim not to have enough money to give for the work of the Lord and pay our cell phone bill, our cable bill, etc. If we trust God we know He is faithful to His word and that we cannot out give Him. If we have a financial need, how often do we lean on our own understanding to figure out how to meet the need. That may result in going into more debt. We’ll never know how God would have worked things out for us because we didn’t trust Him enough to find out. I’m not saying God wouldn’t have directed us to get a loan but we’ll never know because we didn’t ask Him and wait for His answer.

Both the saved and unsaved have heard Christians share instances of God’s answering their prayers in dramatic fashion. People are amazed when they hear such things. Almost without fail the person sharing what God had done for them is looked upon as having a special walk with the Lord and as being a “super Christian.”

The reality is that those persons have a relationship in which, they trust that there is nothing they cannot bring before the Lord, and the faith to believe that He answers the prayers of His children.

READ: Proverbs 3:5-12 (KJV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:

12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.