“I trusted him!” Her eyes pierced mine as she spoke through frustration and hurt. “He had been lying for all of those years…” I was on my way out of the building, but I stopped, startled by her heart stopping pain. Trust had been broken, and she spoke bravely about her big-busted heart.

I recently spoke with a friend who had been unfaithful in her marriage years ago. She had deep regret about this. Amazingly, she and her husband have been able to rebuild trust and restore their marriage.

What exactly is trust? Trust is sought by everyone and perfected by no one. Trust leads to prosperous businesses, joy-spilling homes, healthy family dynamics, lively classrooms, medical breakthroughs, political strength and stability, and is the catalyst for out of the box thinking. Trust grows where people feel safe, supported, encouraged and valued.

The dictionary says trust is simply to “believe in the reliability, trust, ability or strength of another” (www.dictionary.com).

If trust is so ridiculously valuable, what exactly is it? And how do we get it? If you are human, at any given moment, you are either trusting God, or you are not. In a sense, you are wearing trust or distrust, as if you have two sweatshirts to choose between. Trust in God births faith and distrust breeds fear. Whether you like it or not, you are choosing one or the other at any given moment. What do you believe about God’s character in this moment?

Trust in God is power for transformation. Getting your trust on, and activating your trust in God, happens when you believe what He says is true. You will always behave what you believe. True trust is an internal decision that expresses itself externally. To trust God is the fundamental purpose of every human. A heart that trusts God ushers the very Kingdom of God from heaven to Earth in tangible ways because humans behave what they believe. Always.

However, the truth is, things happen that make it so difficult to trust God.

People we love pass away.
Tragedies strike.
Disappointments deepen.

So, in these times, how do we get more trust? Strive? Try harder? Pray more? No.

Rest.

Let me remind you of the statement God makes about your life:

You are not a problem to be solved.
You are not a project to be fixed.
You are not earning favour with Me when you work harder.
You are not disgusting to Me, ever, even when your choices hurt Me.
You are My beloved, and I gave My life for you. My very life.
I love you.
Do you trust Me?

“In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength.” – Isaiah 30:15

When you rest in the unwavering character of God, and His finished work on the cross, you choose to “put your trust on” and you gain the supernatural ability to bring His peace, patience and kindness where there has been resentment, bitterness and misunderstanding.

When we notice, in any given moment, we are not trusting His good heart, He asks us to simply return to the truth, and allow His sweet relief to wash the strain from our bodies, the anxiety from our minds and the bitterness from our hearts.

The more often we choose to put our trust on, the deeper the relationship we enjoy with Him.

 “Those who know your name trust in you…” – Psalm 9:10

 Yes, to put trust on is a daily choice that propels us to behave like we believe. We can’t store up trust to use tomorrow – we must choose it again for today, in this moment. This is how our trusting moments build lives of faith that radiate to transform our world.