5 Ways to Trust God w/ All Your Heart

by Lori Benka

I’ll never forget that morning phone call. I had just been to the doctor for my yearly female check-up and a routine ultrasound of my ovary that was damaged from my endometriosis. I knew something was wrong when the clinician kept getting up in the middle of the test to consult with the doctor.  

The friendly nurse on the other end of the line greeted me and then laid the news on me. “Well, your ovary has another mass (endometrioma) on it and your uterus is very thick. We also found that your cervix has stenosed almost shut, and we don’t know if there is cancer in the uterus. You need to come into the office for a uterine biopsy, and we will go from there. 

Wait! What? This was just supposed to be a routine check-up. God was supposed to be healing me naturally. What is going on? Wasn’t I trusting God? Why do I feel like He doesn’t care about me?  

A few days later I found myself lying on the table waiting for the doctor to biopsy my uterus. I thought to myself that this should be a quick and easy procedure, and I could walk out of the office (actually run because I was so afraid) and get home. Well, what should have been easy turned out to be nearly impossible because they never were able to get through the cervix to take the biopsy. With tears streaming down my face, I told them I couldn’t take this anymore, and I wanted a hysterectomy. I thought to myself that God still had time to heal me. After all, I had been waiting 12 years for him to heal my severe endometriosis. Surely, he would heal me now in such a desperate situation.   

One month came and went, and it was time for my surgery. Nothing in my physical body had changed. The pain was still there, along with everything else that was wrong. But the one thing that did change for me was my trust in God. I literally had to surrender my will and my desire for healing back to God. I had to believe that He was God and accept that if He wanted my healing to come through the hands of a surgeon, then so be it. I had to make a firm decision to believe that God is God and that He would protect me during this lengthy surgery. I didn’t understand why I was going through all of this, but I had to believe that God was working everything out for my good.

What Does it Mean to Trust God?

To find this answer, let’s take a closer look at what it means to trust. Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that trust is “a firm belief in the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. A person or thing in which confidence is placed. Confident hope.”

For Christians, this can be restated as “a firm belief in the character, ability, strength, or truth of God. Placing confidence in God. Confident hope in God.”

To trust God simply means to place your full confidence in Him knowing that He has your best interest at heart and He will never let you down or abandon you. He knows everything you are going through and everything you will go through, and He knows the best way to help you through your difficulties.

I didn’t want to have surgery again. I knew this surgery would be lengthy and intense. But God wanted me to go down this pathway for my healing. He was teaching me to lean on Him and trust Him to do good. 

With each difficulty we go through, we learn that God is faithful and able to be trusted. – Lori Benka Click To Tweet

Begin to call upon Him even now and roll every care and fear over to Him. Only He has the answer to your problem, and only He can calm your anxious heart.   

Bible Verses About Trusting God

The following Bible verses about trusting God are some of the ones I have repeatedly gone to when I needed to lean on God. Each one reminds me of God’s character and His ability to be reliable and be my protector.

Proverbs 3:5-6 – “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 straight your paths.”

Psalm 20:7 – “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

Psalm 40:4 – “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie.”

Psalm 37:3-5 – “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.”

Psalm 143:8 – “Let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in You I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8 – “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by the water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Mark 11:24 – “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Romans 4:20-21 – “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”

Bible Verses About Trusting God in Difficult Times

Psalm 31:14-15 – “But I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God. My times are in Your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!'”

Psalm 56:3-4 – “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”

Psalm 91:1-6 – “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.”

Psalm 112:7 – “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.”

Proverbs 29:25 – “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”

John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Philippians 4:19 – “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

{For more on trusting God in difficult times, see “Hold on!“}

People Who Trusted God in the Bible

We can look through the pages of our Bibles and find many examples of men and women who had to trust God in difficult times.  

Abraham had to trust God when he was called to leave his home and move to an unfamiliar land that God would only show him after he began his journey. He also had to trust in God’s provision when God asked him to sacrifice his only promised son on the altar. Abraham knew without a doubt that God would supply his needs. 

Sarah had to trust God that her old, wilted body would produce the promised child that God said she would have (Genesis chapter 17).

Joseph had to trust that God had a plan for his life when his brothers sold him into slavery and when he was unjustly thrown into prison (Genesis chapters 37-45).

Hannah had to trust that God heard her cry for a child when she fell on her knees at the altar and cried out to Him in anguish (1 Samuel chapter 1).

David had to trust God when he went up and fought Goliath. He had to know in his heart that God was going to fight his battle (1 Samuel chapter 17). He also had to trust God as his protector when King Saul was trying to kill him (1 Samuel chapter 19).

Job had to trust God through the pain of losing everything he had. He had to believe that God had a bigger plan for his life (the book of Job).

Paul and Silas had to trust God in the midst of persecution, being beaten, and thrown into prison. Instead of grumbling and complaining, they sang praises to God, which broke the chains that bound them (Acts chapter 16).

How Do You Trust God?

We don’t have to live our lives full of worry, confusion and fear. We can learn to take every worry, care, and hardship to God and begin to trust Him. Here are 5 ways you can strengthen your trust muscle.

1. Get to know God personally as you would a friend. He’s not a distant, far-off being who is excited to see you struggling in life. He is your heavenly Father who pursues you with unconditional love. To do this…
   • spend time thinking about how He has revealed Himself to you in your life. Look for evidence of Him in all of His creation, from nature to the people you know.
   • spend time learning who He is by reading His word and reflecting on His character displayed there.
2. Reflect on the fact that we don’t deserve anything, but, because of His love and faithfulness, He gives us all we will ever need. 
3. Remember all the times God has been faithful. What He has done in the past, He will do again in your life. He is an on-time, dependable God. He has always come through for you, and He’s not going to change His mind about helping you now.
4. Look closely at the stories of the people in the Bible who trusted God, and see what you can learn from them.
5. Pray! God wants you to trust Him, so if you’re struggling, go to Him and ask for His help.

{For more on how to trust God see: “3 Simple Ways to Trust God More Deeply}

The Power of Trusting God

There is power in trusting God! As we learn to trust Him and throw all of our worries and fears onto Him, we begin to experience joy, peace, protection, and hope. When we begin to put our lives in His hands, worry and fear will begin to cease because we know without a shadow of a doubt that our heavenly Father is working all things out for our good.

When I had to have more surgery, I fought God every step of the way. I didn’t want to go down that road of recovery again. I was in a constant state of fear and panic because I wasn’t putting my life in God’s hands. I was trying to fix the situation myself. I was trying to figure everything out with my own limited understanding.

It wasn’t until I completely surrendered my will and desires to Him and trusted Him in my situation that peace entered into my life. The striving and unrest left as I trusted God.

Trusting God won’t always be easy. There will be seasons in life when it takes a concerted effort to put your trust in the Lord, but I encourage you today to begin to throw all of your cares onto God. Study the scriptures above to learn about God’s character, reflect on His love for you, and remember his faithfulness, and you will see that God can be trusted! He is a good God who will never leave your side!

What will you choose to trust God with today? Comment below and let us know!

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