What do you think is important in our Christian life? It is to realize the good will of God and truly believe Him. In this edition, we are going to delve into what is meant by a 'true trust relationship' and develop an understanding of the steps to develop the true trust relationship with God.


Step 1 "It could never be the case."

When someone speaks ill of one whom you trust, you might strongly say, "That could never be the case. He is not such a person. There must be a misunderstanding." Do you think it shows complete trust? To men, it seems like trust. But God, who sees men's inner hearts, doesn't acknowledge it as trust. This is because of the strong negative connotation in the expression, 'What if?'

If others talk ill of them repeatedly most people become interested in the negative things spoken about people, even those whom they trust. But if you really trust them, you must not listen to the words and you must not even have such a thought as, 'That could never be the case.'

Step 2 "Even if He does not…"

Daniel chapter 3 records about Daniel's three friends' reliability in God. King Nebuchadnezzar commanded them to worship the golden image that he had set up and he said, "Whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire." But Daniel's three friends didn't worship it and said that God could deliver them from the furnace and even if He didn't they would not serve his gods. They 'unchangingly and unconditionally' trusted and served God even before death.

"It could never be the case" could be regarded 'conditional trust.' "Even if He does not" can be said to be 'unconditional trust.' If we establish a true trust relationship we can achieve the heart of unworthy slaves recorded in Luke 17. Even if their master asked them to serve more without saying, 'Good job' after they came back from work, they might have obeyed and said that they had done only what they were supposed to have done. If we have trust like that of unworthy slaves, we also can have such a humble heart.


Step 3 "There must be good will in it."

Can you believe there is the good will of God in any situation that goes beyond your limitation of understanding? When we are faced with something that is opposite to our own thought, if we believe there must be God's will that is higher than our thought, it is said to be true trust (Isaiah 55:9).

Abraham the forefather of faith obeyed immediately without any thought when God told him to offer up his one and only son, Isaac, who had been given by God as the seed of God's promise. This is because he believed that there must have been something in it that was in God's good will. Even in relations among men, when we believe others thinking there must be a reason and see them with goodness, we can say that we trust them.


Step 4 "I got it. He had this kind of heart."

Joseph became the ruler of all Egypt second only to the Pharaoh. Delivering God's good will to his brothers, "Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life" (Genesis 45:5).

Joseph was sold by his brothers to Egypt as a slave. When he worked under the bondage, he was falsely accused and was imprisoned. But he realized there that the good will of God who wanted Jacob's descendants to establish a nation as Israelites. So, he could achieve God's providence only with faith and love (Genesis 50:20-21). True trust relations cause us to not just believe there is the good will of God in every situation but also realize and obey it.


Check your reliability in God by comparing with that of the forefathers of faith


Do you believe unchangingly in any kind of situation?

When David the King was in trial, it seemed like he was forsaken by God and there would be no era of David as king. If his three mighty men had accepted the situation as it had appeared, they might have betrayed David. But they trusted David and followed him when he was faced with miserable situations and even in the threat of death. On the opposite side we have those who see reality and seek their own benefits. Eventually they end up not in trust, but in betrayal.

Then, what was the faith of Apostle Paul like? He believed God would perform extraordinary things and God would receive glory through him. He praised God even when he was imprisoned and almost beaten to death. He trusted God until the end when he was beheaded. True trust doesn't change, but believes regardless of situation, location, and environment.

Have you met your limit?

If Abraham had said to God, who had told him to offer up his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering, "I can give my life and all I have to You, but I can't offer up Isaac," he wouldn't have been recognized as the forefather of faith and would not have been called 'the friend of God', either. But Abraham went beyond his limit and gave his only son Isaac, who is the seed of promise, to God as an offering.

During Jesus' ministry, many people were faced with their limitations. It happened as recorded in John chapter 6 when Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven." At that time, many of His disciples couldn't gain the spiritual realization of the Word, and they left Him. But the disciples who trusted Jesus, like Peter, said only 'Amen' even when the Jesus' Words or the situation were beyond their limitations. They just followed Him.

Generally, do you show deeds of obedience?

David could defeat the giant, Goliath, because he usually slung stones to protect his flock and he also trusted God. In other words, since he had developed the skill before with trust in God, he could defeat Goliath. If you don't show any kind of deeds of faith thinking 'I received prayer, so it should be done', it can't be complete obedience.

Peter's walking on the sea for a while was also made possible because he had usually obeyed the Word of Jesus. Although it went far beyond his ability, he could make steps on the water of the sea without thought while relying on the Word because he trusted Jesus. In the same manner, God works on us after seeing our usual deeds of obedience. Only when we willingly obey what is beyond our own ability can it be recognized as true trust.