‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5, 6).’

The senior elder of the church of which I am a member, invariably ends all of his preachings with the exhortation for us to ‘trust’ in Jesus. I don’t want to trivialise this particular trust by giving you some examples of trust to illustrate what trust means. However, I will give you one example; that is trust while driving on the roads. We go through life trusting in so many things and activities, and being on the road is something most of do, and to which we can relate.

When I drive my car I trust others to drive according to the rules of the Highway Code for England, Scotland and Wales. No one is allowed to drive a car in the UK without being under supervision while learning, and if on their own, without having passed the official tests of theory and of practice. He must be the owner of a driving licence. The driver has to be competent, being able to manage his vehicle safely.

Knowing this, when I get in my car I assume my responsibility to drive it safely and courteously, and get on with it. But, there is another aspect which I must consider, and that is the ‘unexpected’. If a driver contravenes a rule, and places me, and possibly my passengers in a perilous situation, I must respond quickly in an endeavour to escape the danger. If other road users are irresponsible, perhaps by drinking alcohol or taking drugs, thereby reducing their capacity for safe conduct, I can do nothing about them; therefore being on the road while they are on the road is a ‘risk’ I must take.

Now that’s were *’faith’ plays its part. I can’t fully trust drivers of other vehicles, but I can have faith in God to protect me. I can also ‘trust’ Him to do it (Psalm 125), which makes my faith in Him firm. Trusting is the doing, practical application of faith.

God is fully dependable. He does not lie, and what He says He will do, I know He will do it. How do I know? He has given me His trust. He has revealed Himself to me through His word, by His Spirit, His creation of the world, His sustaining of the world and through personal experience of our relationship through His Son, Jesus.

My trust then in getting home safely after driving must go beyond knowing and applying the rules of the Highway Code while expecting others to do the same. You might say, I don’t know if I shall get home safely, which is true, because none of us can foresee the future. Only God is **Sovereign in all matters, and He has determined the future. Our surrender to Him, and our full trust in Him who loves and cares for us is what matters.

Our trust in the Lord is paramount, and if we lack trust in Him we are lost (Luke 19:10)!

*Faith

https://thebiblicalway.blog/2017/12/25/faith/

**Free Will and the Sovereignty of God

https://thebiblicalway.blog/2018/04/20/free-will-and-the-sovereignty-of-god/