Where Do You Place Your Trust?

Word Time

Jul 21

Written By All Nations Fellowship of Dallas

Romans 8:18-39

While there are certain truths many of us may know (e.g., God needs to be our LORD; He is to be revered as ALMIGHTY and HOLY; we need to be SELFLESS more like Him), if there’s one thing I think we all need to remember more than anything else, it’s how important it is that we have a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Him that we have OWNERSHIP in our own faith. That your faith be your own, and that a relationship with Christ be real to you.

And in any relationship, one of the most important things, if not THE most important thing, is TRUST. It’s something we take for granted in our relationships, but behind every solid relationship is a strong foundation of trust. With your relationship with your parents, you trust that they love you. They might not always talk to you lovingly, but through their actions, through their lives devoted to bettering yours, you see and know that they love you, and you can trust them with your life because they are for you. When I toss up Kate or Isaac in the air (which is getting harder and harder), they simpy trust that I’ll catch them. They can smile in the midst of being thrown up in the air because even before they were a year old, they trusted their parents.

For me, I’ve come to realize over the years that the weakest part of my faith is faith. But a better way to put it is that the weakest part of my faith is trusting in God. [Synonyms of trust]

It’s pretty easy for me to accept the fact that He is God; He is great; He is holy, almighty, all-powerful, etc. It’s easy for me to have reverence for God as the ultimate Creator. But as far as trusting that He desires for my good… sometimes, I would rather focus only on God desiring for His good, not mine, and I’ll think that those 2 things have to be mutually exclusive -- meaning sometimes His desires and my desires can’t be connected and go hand-in-hand. In the end, this way of thinking creates a safety net for me to avoid ever being disappointed by God.

In this world, there are many times where I will disappoint myself and other people might disappoint me, but the last thing I ever want is to feel disappointed by God. So trusting in God (and by virtue of that, praying at times) can be difficult for me because I think along the lines of, “Well, God’s will will be done anyway… why bother Him with my desires and thoughts when it’s better off to let Him do His thing and accept whatever He decides on.” I think there’s some value to that way of thinking, because there’s an element of putting hope in God, and not letting yourself get caught up in yourself because God is in control. But it can also be a cop-out “Sunday school answer” that you don’t truly believe in…

I even remember while in youth group hearing a quote from a famous Baptist missionary named William Carey: “Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God.”

This quote is from 1792 (a couple years before Sean was born)
When hearing this quote back then [repeat], I would think, okay… attempt great things for God… got it.
But the idea of expecting great things from God felt foreign to me because I don’t really like having expectations… again, back to feeling like God’s interest can’t align with mine.

When I think hard about it, I’ve had trust issues with God for a while… and part of trusting is being vulnerable. So I’ll share with you something I’ve never really shared with a lot of people. Something I don’t really tell people is because it’s not a not a huge thing in my life now, but maybe telling you all this will help you understand the extent of my lack of trust in God at times...

Since I was young (I know what you’re thinking… “What do you mean since you were young? You’re so young now!!” But what I mean is since I was really young), for some reason, I developed OCD habits and superstitions.
Some people don’t like stepping on cracks on the floor and avoid them when they walk -- I’ve dealt with that too, but here are some more examples of my quirkiness over the years… my mom tells me that even as a 4 year old, I had to have my shoes tied with perfectly symmetrical bunny ears or else I’d throw a fit... and around middle school with lights, I would have to turn the lights off and on 4 times anytime I left a room… with clocks, if I saw it change from something like --:59 to --:00, I would have to see it happen again before I felt a sense of ease… in 7th grade, I specifically remember my Spanish teacher telling our whole class to make a habit of saying “Bunny bunny foot foot conejo conejo pie pie” for our first words on the first day of every month…

As a kid, I would feel like if I didn’t keep up with these things, something terrible would happen… and that I had to keep up with certain things to keep my sky from falling… crazy, right? These things aren’t huge issues for me now, but small residual pieces remain that have become more of a habit than an OCD thing, and it’s funny to even think about it… to this day, I still say “Bunny bunny foot foot, conejo conejo pie pie” when I remember on the first day of the month.

When I think about why I would do these things, it all points to a level of insecurity with God… feeling like I needed to do certain things to avoid “bad outcomes” because I was scared God Himself wouldn’t necessarily protect me… feeling like “Who am I for God to concern Himself with in protecting? I’m not worth it, and I don’t deserve His protection.”

When becoming a Christian, understanding that I was a sinner was never the hard part… it was the unconditional love of God and His overwhelming love that was much harder. The truth of the matter is, we DON’T deserve Him, His love, and His protection. We just don’t. There’s nothing we can say to justify the God of all creation giving us all that. But He gives it to us regardless, and He deserves our trust.

So, trust. What is it?

Already mentioned it’s vulnerability

In Old Testament Hebrew, the word for rope was used to convey the idea of trust. -- Think multi-stranded heavy duty rope
- Rope was used to provide security as it tied you to another person in safety, something you could depend on at that time. [ROCK CLIMBING ANALOGY?]
- If you tied something down with a rope, it was secure.

But… what does it mean to truly trust in God?

We sing songs talking about trusting in Go

What’s it mean to trust in Him?
- Just believing? Praying?

And why does He deserve our trust? It’s easy to just say “because He’s God.” And that’s true. But let’s dig deeper...

Romans
Apostle Paul wrote a lot of letters, but Romans is considered the greatest of his writings. Martin Luther said: "[Romans] is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is dealt with the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes."

Romans 8:18-39
The verses before this passage, Paul writes about how we are heirs with Christ… we’ve talked about that before, right? How, you and I, all of whom are wretched sinners, as believers, we actually get to be (v. 17) “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”

vv18-19; vv24-28; 31-32; 36-39 [13 verses in total]

1. Trusting = having a FOUNDATION of whole-hearted trust through eternal hope, unseen faith, and patience.
[Hope/Expectations/Eternal Perspective] [Trust requires patience.]
v18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
vv24-25 “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

a) Eternal perspective - this is not our home. This is not where we belong. We sang today during praise… “I want to run on greener pastures; I want to dance on higher hills; I want to drink from sweeter waters, in the misty morning chill. And my soul is getting restless for the place where I belong. I can’t wait to join the angels and sing my heaven song.” We have an eternal hope in heaven. - Of course, until we get there, our soul could get restless, right? So what do we do?

b) Unseen Faith - Some people like to say: “Seeing is believing”... but trust is an unseen faith. - Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

c) Patience -- we wait on Him patiently… - Romans 12:12 - Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. - But we know it’s not easy… - Job 6:11 - [In the midst of all his afflictions] “What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient?” - Psalm 37:7 - Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. - Psalm 40:1 - [David:] “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

In the FOUNDATION of trust, trust is not a half-hearted endeavor. It requires our entire being—heart, mind, and soul. We surrender our doubts, fears, and limited understanding to the One who knows all things.
Our trust in God should surpass our trust in human wisdom or circumstances. When we lean on our own understanding, we stumble; but when we trust God wholeheartedly, He directs our paths.

2. Trusting = Praying
[Prayer] … How do we pray?
v26 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

An extension of my weakness in trusting God leads to my inability to pray at times.
Sometimes, we just don’t know HOW to pray… we might even know to pray that God’s will be done, but in reality, we often don’t really know the precise will of God...
Have you guys heard of intercessory prayer? That’s when you pray and plead to God on behalf of someone else… Oswald Chambers was a great Christian writer, and he wrote one of the best devotionals called “My Utmost for His Highest.” In one of the devotionals, he describes intercessory prayer not as putting yourself in someone’s place, but rather putting yourself in GOD’S place - having His mind and His perspective as you pray for someone.
- How great is it that it’s possible for the Holy Spirit himself to intercede on our behalf and pray with God’s mind and perspective when we don’t know how to pray… when the circumstances we face and the anguish we feel are just too much to even put into words.
- Let the Spirit intercede and pray FOR you with God’s mind and God’s perspective. You don’t have to say a lot in prayer… the Spirit can and will groan for us…
- To groan = express feelings of compassion for our weak condition - The Holy Spirit requests the Father’s help for us with deep COMPASSION.
Imagine a child with a speech or hearing problem. The child may not know how to express his feelings and desires, but the parent can use his own lips to sound/mouth it out to carefully formulate what the child wants to say. Similarly, the Holy Spirit can catch up our deepest longings and aspirations and bring them in line with the Father’s ultimate purposes for us.
Whether we struggle with doubts or the sovereignty of God, we can go to Him in prayer
- Life’s storms often shake our trust. Illness, loss, and unanswered prayers can lead us to question God’s goodness. But remember, even Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).
- We are to bring our doubts honestly before God. Wrestling with Him in prayer is not a sign of weak faith; it’s an invitation to intimacy.
- He doesn’t promise a pain-free life, but He promises to be with us.
  - Our trust rests not in the absence of suffering, but in the presence of the Almighty.
  - Trusting God means acknowledging His sovereignty even when circumstances seem bleak. As Job declared, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).

3. Trusting God brings about certain blessings, such as:

A. Peace Beyond Understanding

When we trust God without reservation, a supernatural peace envelops us. It defies logic and surpasses human comprehension (Philippians 4:7).
It’s like the calm in the midst of life’s storms—a peace that guards our hearts and minds.

B. God’s Faithfulness

There’s also God’s unwavering faithfulness. He keeps His promises, even when we falter. Our trust in Him is not misplaced; it’s anchored in His character.
As we walk through life’s valleys, we can testify, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).

Trusting God also brings about blessings in the form of knowledge of God’s Love for us… Knowledge that He is for us.

Love is not some intangible thing… here’s how Paul describes God’s love for us: v28 “And we know for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” v31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” v32 “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will HE not also with him graciously give us all things?”

Analogy: Think to when your parents got you something you really wanted when you were younger… maybe a car? Well, after getting you that, if later on, you want something less significant like a phone and they refuse to give that to you, would you think they don’t want to give you things? Would you think they’re holding back on you? Would you think they don’t want to give you things that you desire? No… I mean, they gave you a car! What’s a smaller item like a phone compared to that??
- We’ve been given the greatest gift possible… salvation through Christ and the promise of eternity with Him, when we deserved NONE of it.
- That in and of itself should make it clear to us that He will not withhold anything that is for our good. Because He has given us the ultimate gift as proof that He loves us… that He is for us.
Matthew 6:25-26 [Jesus saying] “Therefore I tell you do not [be anxious or] worry … Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are YOU not much more valuable than they?”
- Worry, or being anxious, reflects a lack of trust in God, who promises that he will graciously care for “all these things.” (Ro. 8:32)
- So what are we supposed to do instead of worrying? See Matt. 6:33 - “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

v35 [Know that we are inseparable from His love] “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

v37 -- No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
- God allows us to conquer and overcome any tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, or danger.

v36 [Paul reminds of Psalm 44:22] “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

In Psalm 44, there was a national disaster in Israel as they were being attacked and murdered, and the writer here in this psalm is calling on God to deliver them.
Israel is usually seen as a nation that is disobedient to God and turns its back on Him. But here in Ps 44, while in the midst of many defeats and slaughtering of their people, Israel called out to God all the while actually remaining obedient and continuing to trust in God.
Their defeat and humiliation were not consequences of sin; instead, they suffered innocently and were slaughtered for purposes known only to God.
Now… all this to say that in this room, you guys may be struggling with something… this life isn’t easy… but despite your circumstances, know that God has always been and continues to always be FOR YOU. - Don’t let your thoughts, worries, anxieties, circumstances, hurts lead you away from Him -- remain in Him.

v38 [With this context in mind, Paul writes] “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We look to the love of God and allow it to sustain us.
I don’t want to make you guys feel entitled, but you have to know that He is FOR YOU.
God is for us; cares for us specifically and deeply; and He desires for OUR GOOD.

Now, I want to be clear that when I say God desires for our good, that’s not saying that whatever WE think is initially good is what God desires...

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
God will give us the desires of our hearts… this doesn’t mean to “fake it til you make it” so that maybe God will be fooled into giving you whatever you want because you so desire something. Rather, the more our hearts are in tune with Him, the more our desires become like HIS, not the other way around.
As you delight yourself in the Lord, your heart will desire the right things in tune with God’s desires, which He’ll naturally give you.
Those who take delight in the Lord will receive their hearts’ desires because the righteous who delight in the Lord will want to see His will done, and of course, that will happen eventually for them.
Again, when we don’t know exactly know what the will of God is, we allow the Spirit to intercede

*I want to bring up the wise proverb that you’ve heard, but I hope you apply it to your life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

My favorite verse from Psalms applies here and pretty much summarizes all 3 points above from the passage in Romans.