What does is mean to have trust in God?

To me, having trust in God is about being confident about what God has said concerning your life, and therefore being obedient to what God has lead you to do.

And this is the point which arises questions like:

- How do you know what God has said concerning you?

- How do I tell the people it affects?

- How can I be so sure this is what God wills?

First and foremost, in John 15:5 Jesus tells us that without Him we can do nothing.

Therefore God should be our ultimate source of direction in everything we do, hence trust being such an important element otherwise we'd be building our initial plan's foundation on sand.

And I speak on this because,

There are occasions where we've been to a particular service and we've heard what God has said in His Word. We've allowed the Holy Spirit to enhance our understanding concerning the Word which we had received, and He then deposits an intuitive or a form of direction which would be relevant to your current situation.

It may not happen in that chronological way and it may not be that simple, however in a circumstance like this God has put something in your heart which concerns only you and has put you in a position to either be obedient to God and take action, or to be passive.

A place where many of us fall, is when God has revealed something to us and we try to do it ourselves.

Some of us have developed a habit of trusting ourselves to fulfil something we want to achieve, possibly because when we trusted in others for help it ended up in disappointment.

Or on the other hand, maybe some of us have a couple people we trust that can work together and possibly try to make sense of what God has told you.

So in both cases, are you really trusting God?

If we have received Jesus Christ as our personal saviour and He dwells within us, we have instantaneous access to Him through prayer, and the Holy Spirit is here to intercede on our behalf,

Wouldn't it make sense for us to continue to seek God for a sense of direction concerning what He has shown us?

To continue to seek God to ensure we are on the right path?

Because man will only be able to advise and direct us based on what they have already seen,

God has prepared for us what no eyes has seen and what no ears have heard, therefore God is will be able to advise and direct us on what is to come.

Sometimes its that stubborn case of consulting your friends to seek their opinions before we take action.

In all of our affairs with God there shouldn't have to be debates based on what God has shown us,

Why?

Because when we received from God we were of one mind and you interpreted the information based on what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you;

based on your personal understanding ;

and based on what you have been praying for.

Therefore if we consult a second party for their opinion based on what God has said concerning your life will make space for doubt, make space for fear, and other things that are not of God.

And this is where the element of trusting in God is lost again.

Did any of the Israelites encourage David to defeat Goliath?

Wasn't Eliab outraged and said he came to the battle out of pride and insolence of his heart?

Didn't Saul say David is not able to go against him for he is only a young youth?

But what did David do?

1 Samuel 17:46-47

New King James Version (NKJV)

46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

David had total trust and faith in God, he knew it was not by his own strength that he will conquer Goliath but by God's - which I note from 'for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands'

Galatians 1:10 tells us if we are still trying to please men we would not be servants of Christ

In all circumstances we should remember God is with us wherever we go, 

He will never leave us nor forsake us

God will not open a door for us if He was not going to lead you to your destination; we just need to continually seek and trust in Him for our guidance and continue being obedient to His Word.

When we trust in God we are walking in faith.

And in every opportunity, God can demonstrate His love and faithfulness.

God's understanding is beyond comprehension of man, therefore we cannot lean on our own understanding nor man's understanding concerning what God is telling us.

There will always be situations where we are faced with an ultimate decision which is to trust man or to trust in God - and as Christians this question is very self explanatory.

Love and Blessings

Melissa-Ann Rose

xox

Proverbs 3:5

New King James Version (NKJV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

What does being a Christian mean to you?

This question alone will arise so many different answers, but a mutual understanding of being a Christian is knowing that we belong to Christ.
This sense of belonging encompasses the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, 
because once the Holy Spirit dwells within us, our bodies becomes a temple of God which has therefore been restored and justified of our flesh's sin, (1 Cor 6:19)
hence becoming set apart from the world as we have ultimately been purchased by the blood of Jesus.
By the power of the Holy Spirit we have been transformed into a new creation after being crucified with Christ on our day of baptism,
A new creation that submits to the Word of the Living God therefore enabling us to unravel the plans God has for us according to His will.

Notice that it is the Holy Spirit who has empowered us to attain many of the things God wants us to receive, however in order to receive we must be working in a vessel that is relatable to the Holy Spirit.
After becoming born again we have surrendered our lives to Christ, and our spirits are therefore being lead by the Spirit of God, moreover putting to death the evil deeds of the body and not gratifying the desires of the flesh -
And because we no longer submit to the desires of our flesh but walk with the Spirit, the innate behaviour God originally deposited in us when He made us in His image and likeness will begin to manifest.
We will grow to become obedient to the Word of God, and because of our developing relationship with God we will be able to instinctively determine anything that is not of God.

And I say instinctively
Because these are the aspects God originally birthed within us when He created us in His image and likeness,
However it was only by our step of faith, our dismissal to the flesh and being submissive to the Holy Spirit that we allowed our knowledge and understanding to grow, and to become aware of things we didn't know or understand without the Holy Spirit.
For Example,
Someone may have been born with an inherited blood disease - emphasis on a person being born with the disease therefore it has always been there.
Perhaps this person didn't know they had the inherited blood disease until a couple years later a doctor was able do perform a blood test and outline to them that they have the disease.
At this moment of time it isn't until the person's knowledge and understanding of having the disease can they act on it -
The same way we cannot execute Gods will concerning our lives without the submissal of our flesh, is the same way that person cannot do the following actions required for his or her condition before going to see a doctor.

We will begin to realise many of the things God reveals to us had already been there but we hadn't acknowledged God had been working on our behalf even before we accepted Him.
We will begin to experience it becoming a bit more easier to forgive than to hold a grudge,
It becomes a bit more easier to love your neighbour than to hate them,
It becomes a bit more easier to treat everyone as your equal than to compete with them out of pride.
All of these types of behaviour becomes easier because they are innate. 
As a chosen people we instinctively do acts that are pleasing to God because he is our creator.

In addition,
God tells us in John 15:16 (NKJV) -

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

This is telling us although it took however amount of time it took to come to the realisation of our need of Christ to be our personal saviour,
Our faithful and covenant keeping God who knew us before we were formed in our mothers wombs had already chosen and appointed us, therefore equipping is with the sufficient provision required to grow with the Lord.

If God didn't want us to have a relationship with Him, He wouldn't have shown us the things He can do concerning our lives.
God put in us an innate desire to deter from sin, seek his face, and yearn for forgiveness.
All of which enable us to grow as children of God and to prosper as a holy nation.
We have been chosen at a royal priesthood to declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light.
As children of God it is within us to continue being obedient to the Word of God and do things of God, this of which I call our 'spiritual instincts'.

Love and Blessings
Melissa-Ann Rose 
xox

Romans 8:12-17

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him,that we may also be glorified together.