Faithfulness and Trust

January 27, 2021

If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? Luke 16:10-12 NLT

One of the determining factors in our spiritual health is the level of trust we have in God. We often say we believe in God with our whole hearts, and we may. We may believe with every bit of thinking power in us that there is a God, He is loving, and He is as real as our next breath. We can believe all kinds of things—Jesus died for our sins, He loves the whole world, on and on. But belief doesn’t equate to faith. They are two different concepts and acts. Faith takes belief to a new level.

For instance, I can say I believe in an airplane’s ability to get me from Ohio to California. I know it can do it. But if I have a fear of flying and I refuse to get on the flight, I have proven that my belief and my faith are not in synch. I have no actual faith in the plane’s ability because I have no trust. I don’t put what I say I believe into action.

That’s a real problem for many of us in discipleship and must be a target of our training. We believe all the right things about God, but our faith is non-existent or at least ineffective. If you read the story Jesus told in Luke 16, you will readily see that the untrustworthy servant was exactly that because his faith in his master was much lower than his faith in himself. He believed that he could trust himself and handle his assignment, bringing more satisfaction to himself than the boss could or would do.

That’s what our lives often prove about us. We believe in God, but we don’t have faith. We don’t trust Him. We believe we know more and can be trusted more to make the decisions about our money, our careers, our marriages—everything. God has given us much in life, but because we do not have real and active faith that He knows best and will do best—He can be fully trusted—we don’t really obey. We are untrustworthy because we do not trust Him.

This area can only be overcome and changed by training. Rarely will a person begin to tithe just because they want to. Most of the time, we only get there by deciding to actively prove our trust in God by doing what He says, even when our heart is wavering. After a while of persevering, proving our faith by intentional training, our feelings catch up and we begin to experience the rewards of discipline and obedience. That’s true in every area of life. Lack of trust will make me untrustworthy.

• God, may my faith and trust catch up with my belief as I train and obey. Amen.