Trusting God

God wants us to trust him. The Bible goes so far as to say, “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). Trusting God to forgive us, and having confidence in Christ to save us from the penalty of our sins is just the beginning (as the rest of Hebrews 11 goes on to illustrate). We face important opportunities to trust God when we encounter health issues, financial challenges, relationship problems, and all the varied concerns about our security and safety. In all situations our task as God’s children is to be faithful in doing what he has commanded us to do and to sincerely trust him to provide.

Consider God’s directive to the Israelites when he instructed them to gather their manna in the wilderness. He told them, “Gather it, each one of you” and so they did (Exodus 16:16). But considering all the variables between each family’s abilities, capacities and needs, we would assume that some would not have enough and others would have too much. But as God would have it, “whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack” (Exodus 16:18). Our faithful God lovingly and perfectly provided for his people when they diligently worked and sincerely trusted him for the outcome.

He did so then, and he does so now. Not wanting this truth to be forgotten, God had Israel memorialize this event when he told Moses, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout the generations” (Exodus 16:33). For centuries that jar sat nestled in the ark of the covenant in the middle of the Old Testament worship center as a perpetual reminder that God can be fully trusted, day in and day out, because he is a God who perfectly provides.