Growing in trust
by Charles Bertelsmeier
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Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him (Hebrews 11:6b).
Read Hebrews 11:1–12
Chapter 11 of the letter to the Hebrews provides a list of heroes of faith in the Old Testament. All these people received promises and/or directions from God and responded in a way that showed that they trusted that God would hold to his side of the bargain. However, this trust or faith in God was something that grew over time. Abraham tried to hurry God along by fathering an heir with his wife’s maid; it took Moses some time to accept his role as leader of the Israelites; Gideon asked God twice to perform miracles with a sheep’s fleece. But as they experienced God’s faithfulness, their faith in him grew and God gave them more and more responsibilities.
Our own growth in faith will be unique to us, but it begins with a seed of faith. For some, the seed will be the gift of growing up in a loving, caring family that teaches the children about God and demonstrates their trust in God by the way they live. For others, it will be someone sharing with them their own experience of God working in their life and providing an invitation to check God out for themselves. Again, for others, the seed of faith will be something they read in a book, see on social media or experience on an audiovisual screen. Sometimes it might take a crisis in our lives to get us to grab that seed of faith and call out to God for help.
God assures us that his love is for everyone and his Holy Spirit is at work in all of these situations to nurture the seed of faith so that it germinates and grows. However, God doesn’t force his intentions on us. For us to grow, we need to follow the examples of these heroes of faith and take that step forward, to follow where God is calling us to go. As we see God at work in our lives and the lives of others, our trust in God’s promises and directions will grow stronger.
Sometimes, to go forward, we need to leave things behind. Some people will find it just too hard to let go, and their growth in their relationship with their Heavenly Father will be stifled. If we have grown sufficiently in our trust in God’s love for us and are open and honest with him, we can take these struggles to him for his help, and he has promised to work with us to free us from all that distracts from our growth as his child.
Can you be open and honest with God about the things you find hard to let go of? Do you trust God’s love for you to the extent that you can tell God honestly about your struggles and ask his help? Are you sincerely seeking to know God and his plan for your life?
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me so much that you will never let go of me. Thank you for your patience with me as I struggle to be what I think you want me to be. Please help me to let go and snuggle into your loving embrace. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the Air Force, Army and Navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north west suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together they have four children and eight grandchildren whom they love spending time with. He keeps himself busy with their pot plants, community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
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