Article by Jodi Ekk
Do you trust God with the circumstances of your life? Do you go about your days with an understanding that what is happening, or what might happen, is completely within His grasp? Are you able to close your eyes at night and believe that there is no need to worry about the events of tomorrow? I have noticed in my own life, and in the lives of those I counsel, that Christians who trust God for salvation may still struggle to trust Him in our everyday difficulties. When circumstances don’t make sense to us, instead of trusting God, we accuse, blame Him, or ignore his involvement completely. How do we change this and develop a deeper trust in Him, like Jesus commanded in John 14:1?1
Author Jerry Bridges provides us with biblical answers in his book, Trusting God. He focuses on three main truths about God to show us how to view our life circumstances “through eyes of faith”: God is completely sovereign, infinite in wisdom, and perfect in love.2 Bridges expounds on these truths through chapters on God’s trustworthiness, His control, power, rule, and wisdom. He also addresses relationship with God through knowing and experiencing Him, trusting Him for your uniqueness (how he intentionally made you), growing through adversity, and giving thanks to Him always. There are fourteen chapters to this book, followed by a 100-page discussion guide. The guide is useful for applying the biblical truths to personal experience and can be worked through either individually or as a group. Each lesson addresses a central idea, examines trust, develops trust, and directs the reader to act on what they have learned.
What impacted me most about this book was how Bridges explains God’s character and his sovereignty in our lives. He writes, “The first thing we have to do in order to trust God is determine if God is in control, if He is sovereign over the physical area of our lives. If He is not—if illness and afflictions ‘just happen’—then, of course, there is no basis for trusting God. But if God is sovereign in this area, then we can trust Him without understanding all the theological issues involved in the problem of pain.”3 For me, this was a helpful reminder that things such as health issues or work problems or repeated failed attempts at buying a house are not somehow removed from God’s control. I have often believed the lie that I have ultimate control over outcomes but was reminded through this book that our perfect and trustworthy God holds all things in His hands (see Psalm 63:8, Psalm. 139; Isaiah 41; Isaiah 43; John 10:28-29).
This pragmatic approach to trusting God with the problems of life provides us with a sense of peace unlike anything the world can offer. (Isaiah 26:3; John 14:27) Concurrently, scripture invites us to participate in what God is doing in our lives (Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Corinthians 5:15-20). As Bridges states, “we must depend upon God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We must, to the same degree, depend on Him to enable us to do what we must do for ourselves.”4
Do you see how practical trusting God becomes when we exercise faith in Him? We can call out to him when facing difficulty, ask and look for solutions that He is providing, and then trust that He is working in and through any difficulty or suffering (Psalm 34:4; Psalm 66:5; Romans 8:28). We can seek godly counsel in making plans for our lives but then trust that our plans are still under his sovereign will and, therefore, not worry about the outcome (Proverbs 15:22; 16:9). I don’t need to lay awake at night worrying about how tomorrow will turn out—it is not within my control, anyway!
I highly recommend Trusting God by Jerry Bridges for anyone who is experiencing worry, fear, anxiety, disappointment about the past, or uncertainty about the future. It is a helpful reminder that God offers us unending hope, peace, and joy—not only for salvation, but for each day. (Romans 15:13; Philippians 4:6-9)
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily held by everyone at Christ City Church.
Endnotes
1John 14:1 – Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
2Bridges, 6.
3Bridges, 94.
4Bridges, 107.