Recently I had to ask myself. “Do you REALLY trust God?” Three years ago, the answer would have been no. Today, I know I trust God with my life. I just still struggle sometimes with flying out on my own agenda. That’s due to years of not trusting God and believing that I was on my own. Now that I know my life is not my own and that it belongs to God, it’s easier for me to explore the idea of trusting Him, and learn how to trust Him. Below is an exercise you can use to determine how much you really trust God.

The definition of trust according to the New Oxford American Dictionary is:

1. The firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something
2. Acceptance of the truth of a statement without evidence or investigation
3. (Law) confidence placed in a person by making that personal the nominal owner of property to be held or used for the benefit of one or more others.
4. Commit to the safekeeping of
5. Have confidence, faith or hope in
6. Place reliance on

So based off that definition, let’s pull out the key characteristics of trust:

1)      Knowledge of the thing or person you put your trust in

2)      Confidence in the ability of thing or person

3)      Willingness to place yourself in safekeeping of said thing or person

4)      History of behavior or performance that inspires and cultivates trust

What other key characteristics would you add?

Once you’ve meditated on these key characteristics and the definition of trust, answer these questions: Based off the key characteristics of trust, do Itrust God? Which characteristics do I already have? How do I know I have them? Which areas do I need to improve in? How do I know I need to improve in these areas?