What does it mean to trust in God?

Trust is a simple word. While a basic concept, trust is a necessary component of all human interaction. By definition, trust is the firm belief in the integrity, ability or character of a person or thing.

Sep 04, 2014

By Daniel S. Mulhall
Trust is a simple word. While a basic concept, trust is a necessary component of all human interaction. By definition, trust is the firm belief in the integrity, ability or character of a person or thing.

When we say that we trust someone, we mean that we feel comfortable in that person's company, that we feel safe and secure, able to let our guard down. We know that we can count on the person to treat us kindly and to do what is promised.

Without trust, we would live in a world of fear, always having to be wary, never being able to rely on anyone or anything else. Trust is an essential element for life. The phrase, “In God We Trust,” is the official motto of the United States of America and the nation of Nicaragua. The phrase appears on all US currency.

But what exactly does it mean, to place one’s trust in God?

As Catholic Christians, the Bible is the first place we turn to to try and answer that question. In many ways, the Bible is one continuous story of how God has called humanity to a relationship of total trust and how people have responded to that call.

Every story in the Old Testament, starting with Adam and Eve, then on through Noah, Moses and Miriam, David and Solomon, up to the Maccabees, shows that peace and happiness come from putting one’s trust in God, while war and disaster come from putting our trust in anyone or anything but God. This is also the messagefound in the writings of all the prophets.

Many of the psalms express this trust in God. Psalm 5:12 says, “Then all who trust in you will be glad and forever shout for joy. You will protect them and those will rejoice in you who love your name.”

Psalm 9:10-11 makes an even stronger case: “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you. You never forsake those who seek you, Lord.” Psalm 27:5 offers us assurance: “For God will hide me in his shelter in time of trouble, he will conceal me in the cover of his tent; and set me high upon a rock.”

In Psalm 62:9 we are admonished to “trust God at all times, my people! Pour out your hearts to God our refuge!”

Proverbs 3:5-6 proclaims that we are to trust God more than ourselves: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths.”

In the New Testament, Jesus teaches what it means to trust in God completely and gives witness to that trust throughout his life, and even unto his death and resurrection.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church also advises us to put our trust in God. The catechism in No. 154 points out that “trusting in God and cleaving to the truths he has revealed is contrary neither to human freedom nor to human reason. Even in human relations, it is not contrary to our dignity to believe what other persons tell us about themselves and their intentions, or to trust their promises.”

So, what does it mean for a person of faith to trust God? While some people practice a radical Christianity and depend totally on God for all that they have, most Christians show trust in God by simply living.

They count on God to look after them and to take good care of them, to protect them and those they love from harm, and to prepare a place for them in heaven following death. They work, earn money, plant gardens, and fix the car – all of those ordinary aspects of living.

They don’t expect God to do it for them. Rather, they see themselves as co-creators with God. They do the best work they can and trust that God will do amazing things with their work. They ask God in prayer for what they want and need, but trust that God will do what is best for them. Their trust in God gives meaning and purpose to their lives.

In his exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis assured us that even when we face tough moments, the continuous trust we’ve built over time will carry us through. Sometimes we witness the fruits of that trust, but sometimes we don’t. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t produce results.

The pope wrote, “Because we do not always see these seeds growing, we need an interior certainty, a conviction that God is able to act in every situation, even amid apparent setbacks. ... This certainty is often called ‘a sense of mystery.’”

He continued: “It involves knowing with certitude that all those who entrust themselves to God in love will bear good fruit. This fruitfulness is often invisible, elusive and unquantifiable. We can know quite well that our lives will be fruitful, without claiming to know how, or where, or when.”

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