Faith vs. Trust
My dear friend asked me if he could borrow my car for one day while his was in repair. I immediately said “of course.” I’ve known him for years and I would have no problem trusting him with my car. As he was dropping me off I mentioned that my brakes were also scheduled for service the following week. He jokingly asked, “want me to fix em for you?” “No thanks”, I said. To which he responded, “What’s the matter, don’t you trust me?” “Of course I trust you,” I said, “Im giving you my car for the day. It’s not a question of trust, it’s a matter of confidence.” Then with a slight chuckle in my voice I said, “I trust your character completely, but I have absolutely no faith in your mechanical ability.” He laughed too.
Faith is different than trust. When faith is challenged by circumstances, trust reinforces faith. Faith is related to what’s promised, God’s word and God’s ability. Trust is related more to God himself and his character and integrity. Job said, “though he slay me, yet will I trust Him.” [1] trust is the fall back for faith. When what God said doesn’t seem to be happening as we thought it would, and we are totally bewildered by our circumstances we can still rely on His character to keep His promise and come through.
Faith is believing, but trust is relying and resting. Knowing that God will “come through” because He always does, sustains us when understanding of how He is going to come through fails. Knowing that God’s word is not a lie, because God is not a liar, [2] is the reinforcement that trust gives to faith. Trust is faith’s backup.
On the day Christ was crucified, everything contradicted what He had promised. [3] The disciples had to decide if He had misled them. Their faith wavered as they all ran away. But they still knew they hadn’t been deceived because they trusted He wasn’t a deceiver.
When circumstances baffle us, trust steps up. One of the most heavenly declarations is,” I don’t know, I don’t have to know.” To have perfect peace, I only need to know Him. [4] I might not know why things are the way they are [5] but I know God’s character. We may not know what the future holds but we know who holds the future. He’s not cruel, He knows everything that’s going on, He is faithful, and He is able. So, whatever is happening, will work together for good, despite our lack of understanding. [6] That’s not naive, that’s trust.
Wisdom is promised unconditionally. [7] But sometimes it arrives after the crisis as in Job’s case. Until then we still trust Him. So says Job, [8] and the disciples.
[1] Job 13:15 [2] Num.23:19 [3] Matt.20:19 [4] 2 Tim.1:12 [5] Phil.4:6-7 [6] Rom.8:28 [7] Jms.1:5-6 [8] Job 42:6