Trusting God is something that I can confidently say I do. I’ve been trusting God ever since I knew He can be trusted. Yet how easily I freak out when difficult situations, from which I think I need immediate rescuing, turn even more dim and hopeless. I whine, panic, and doubt. I want to see God’s hands now—and quick. When I don’t see things changing, I go out of my way to turn things around myself.
No, I’m not moving ahead of God. I’m just doing my part, I reason.
But God makes me realize my trust is superficial. I’m just trusting with my head. Sure, this kind of trust gives me a sense of peace. After all, wouldn’t it be comforting when your head tells you, “Yeah, I’ve got that trusting part covered?” But when things get more difficult to handle, head-based trust doesn’t stand up to the test. Soon, it expires.
We know we’re trusting with our heads when we try to manipulate things—and yes, even control God—into meeting our prayers. So in the end, trusting with just our heads is not trusting at all.
Proverbs 3:5 tells us to trust the Lord with all our hearts. And only from the position of the heart can we fully trust God. It is internalized and reflected through actions, or sometimes even inaction. It is about relinquishing control of situations and being still while carefully tuning in to God and listening to His directions.
What I learned about God is that His voice is small, soft, and peaceful. So when the voice in my head is loud, has a timbre of worry, and prompts me to do things quick, I know that is not God speaking. And I know I’ve not been trusting from the right position.
What does trusting God with the heart look like? Quite simply, it looks like the familiar trust fall game. Difficult situations push and make us fall to the ground. But heart-based trust is aware that God has our back. It tells us that even though we don’t know how He’s going to catch us or how fast He’s going to do so, He won’t let us touch the ground.
Head-based trust is confident that God can pull off a perfect rescue operation. But it requires all the details of God’s plans to make us still. When it doesn’t have full knowledge of the details—and God never makes all the details known—its confidence diminishes. Eventually it will talk us into getting on with our own plans.
Head-based trust is impatient. It illuminates our weakness and the urgency of the situation. But heart-based trust builds up our confidence and strength while we wait on God. And certainly, it knows that something supernatural is accomplished as we go through uncomfortable, painful situations.
Head-based trust is short-lived. Heart-based trust can see us through the night and into the morning.
Friends, it’s time to check ourselves. Are we trusting from the right position?
By Abby Aranzamendez, a life chronicler at Journal the Sojourn
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I think, sometimes, that in stubborn hearts like mine, pain is the fire that opens this seed of heart-trust. Looking back I see myself, oh so slowly switching gears. ….and I’m so grateful to see these precious buds coming out of trials!
Right! Sometimes we need to experience some amount of pain to really learn how to trust. Even though learning usually takes time. By the way, isn’t that how God works on us–slowly? 🙂
Thank you, Abby, I’m reading The Relationship Principles of Jesus this summer and was just reminded again about loving God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength… collectively. Thanks for confirming this truth again to me today. I’m so with you on the head-trusting. SO with you. 🙂
And you’ve just reminded me about loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Thank you, Christan. 🙂
Thank you for your thoughts. I’ve been searching for inner peace and the Lord challenged me on this subject yesterday. He brought ps 31 to my devotions: IN YOU, O Lord, do I put my trust and seek refuge; let me never be put to shame or [have my hope in You] disappointed; deliver me in Your righteousness! (Psalm 31:1 AMP)
For several months, I received the same word–never be put to shame–from God. “No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame” (Psalm 25:3). Whenever I feel threatened by my situation, He keeps reminding me this. Faithful He is. 🙂
Heart trusting – oh yes. This is something I struggle with. And scripture – it is so clear….it’s all in the heart with Him.
Good, good words for me today.
Thanks for the wisdom 🙂
– Kate
Thank you, Kate. 🙂
Incredible. I’m sitting right now in the public library parking lot (downtown). I goofed on the times and got here an hour early. I thought I’d pull right through and go get other things done…returning later. Then I felt that tug. God wanted me to stay in the parking lot and pray….for the homeless on the steps. Normally I’d be scared and I probably would have justhave said ok, but have done it my way (like from another location). I was filled with His peace completely though…it was like you said…I totally trusted Him. I prayed from here. I had a few extra minutes and read your post…oh the gifts we receive when we trust Him!
Your post was mine today!
And that peace, that peace that we feel when we trust Him. We know we should be terrified, but we are not. That unexplainable peace just shrouds our hearts. 🙂
As I reread your post, I was reminded of one thing: Obedience follows trust. If we don’t trust God enough, it would be harder for us to obey.
There is nothing quite like the freedom of trusting God with my heart and not just my head. I am not always the best about that. Thank you for the beautiful reminder! 🙂
I like how you worded it, Mindy. 🙂 “Freedom of trusting God.” We are free to trust, only we often put limitations on how much we trust Him.
Thank you for the beautiful words. 2012 has been a year filled with challenges that have exposed my head trust. Your words are a timely reminder to let go of what I know and reach out for who I know.
Thank you, Daphne. I’m glad this post ministered to you. 🙂
You said, “What I learned about God is that His voice is small, soft, and peaceful. So when the voice in my head is loud, has a timbre of worry, and prompts me to do things quick, I know that is not God speaking. And I know I’ve not been trusting from the right position.”
That pushy voice is definitely not God. However, it is so easy to get carried away listening to it, huh?. Peace displaced by fear is how I recognize that I am trusting with my head and not my heart.
Yes, Melinda, it’s so very easy. But you’re right, a deep sense of lasting peace fills our entire being when we trust God with our heart. 🙂
Thank you for your words today on the hear-based trust. This is something that is still in the developing stage in my life and I realize more fully now that God gives me peace when I sit back and wait upon Him to do the leading.
Yes, Linda. There’s peace that transcends all understanding. And strength is available to those who wait on Him. 🙂
Thank you for this, Abby. I’ve been choosing to trust God, and this is one more piece of what I need: heart-based trust instead of trusting from my head. What kind of trust is it, really, when we don’t give it unless we see exactly how He’s going to work? What we need to know is that He is our Good Shepherd, and He will never leave us.
That’s true, Janet. I thank God this post spoke to you. 🙂
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