Trustful Belief, Believing Trust
What would it look like to move beyond merely believing the facts about God and begin trusting Him so completely that obedience becomes your boldest response?
“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7).
When we think about the deeds recorded in Hebrews 11, it’s hard to imagine the level of trust those people must have had. Consider Noah, for example. Everything about his obedience required going out on a limb — his was truly “the righteousness which is according to faith.” In him, we see the faith God has always sought in those who desire to have fellowship with Him.
Belief. Entry-level faith is the kind that accepts whatever facts about God can be known. To “believe” is to accept that what God says is true and that the deeds attributed to Him in the Scriptures actually happened. As far as the future is concerned, faith means believing that if God says something is going to happen, it certainly will. In each of these ways, Noah believed the truth about God.
Trust. Although belief is extremely important, trust is even more so. Noah’s belief wouldn’t have done much good if he hadn’t trusted God enough to risk obeying Him. Like the others in Hebrews 11, he demonstrated confidence in God. And his confidence was not blind gullibility. He knew enough about God’s track record to trust that He could be counted on. Like his belief, Noah’s trust rested on a foundation of facts — facts that could be known to be true.
Belief is always pointing toward trust. Trust is its proper goal, the thing it’s meant to produce. Even in our human relationships, we wouldn’t feel comfortable if someone said, “I believe you, but I don’t trust you.” Just so, God wants us not only to accept the truth of His statements; He wants us, based on those truths, to count on His care.
By the same token, trust is always pointing toward obedience. Belief and trust play supporting roles in producing action in our lives. That’s why it is meaningless to speak of faith without works. If faith doesn’t produce obedience, it has failed to reach its goal.
How do we today measure up? If the courage to obey is what measures our trust, what does the record reveal? Perhaps we trust God up to a point, but there’s nothing in Hebrews 11 about “up to a point.” That chapter is about trusting God no matter what.
“Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation” (D. Elton Trueblood).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com