Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
Half-Hearted Trust
Trust can look like a whole lot of different things depending on our circumstances. Sometimes trust is quietly sitting in the Lord’s presence in peace and rest. Sometimes trust is confrontation. Sometimes it is taking the tiniest step, just to dip our toe in the raging waters - because we trust Him. Sometimes trust involves action on our part, and sometimes trust involves being still and quiet.
Whether we are in action or waiting, true trust means trusting with all our hearts. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 We cannot be halfway devoted to God if we are really trusting Him. He wants us to trust Him with all our devotion and being. We cannot feel secure and confident in our trust if we do not fully trust Him.
Half-hearted trust is like whole-hearted doubt. You either give Him
all your trust or none at all. – Van Houser
We also must trust God alone if we are to fully trust Him. If we are not trusting God, and God alone, it is not total trust and it is ineffective. We do this all the time when we lay our burdens down, but then pick them back up again. We also do this when we trust something or someone other than, or along with God. We can’t ask God for help and then turn to something that we think will give us a quicker answer or the answer we want.
Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him. But if Baal, follow him.” But the people didn’t answer him a word. 1 Kings 18:21
The entire nation of Israel, along with nearly 1,000 pagan prophets gathered on Mount Carmel for the showdown between the One True God, Yahweh, and the pagan god Baal. The evil King Ahab had established idol worship in Israel and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kins of Israel before him. 1 Kings 16:30 Because of Israel’s turning away from God there had been a 3 year drought and now Elijah had them present to see just which god was real. To make a long story short, Yahweh showed up and Baal was nowhere to be seen. Elijah soaked an altar on top of Mount Carmel and called on Baal to bring fire to consume it and nothing happened. Then he called on the One True God, and He rained down fire from heaven and consumed the water-soaked offering.
Like Baal, our false gods boast of power they do not possess. They may promise to solve problems, but they cannot. They may seem to bring joy or help us forget our problems, but they really create more problems for us. Trying to keep our allegiance split between two (or more) gods will keep us off balance. We must choose who we want to trust.
The difference between the One True God and a false god is that one will answer, and one will not. One will be faithful and true, and one will let you down every time. One will bring fire from heaven, and one will not, and one will consume the other. The One True God will consume all other gods.
Are you seeking truth from the One True God - or from something else that you are expecting to bring fire in your life that only God can bring? Are you off balance, wavering, right now because you are trusting something else besides God? Get rid of all the idols and false gods. He alone is God in our lives, or He cannot be our God at all. We will only experience His blessings for us and His power in our lives when He alone is seated on the throne of our hearts. Exchange your half-hearted trust for wholehearted devotion today.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in people. Psalms 118:8
