Trust isn’t easy for many of us. 

We have been hurt, betrayed, fired from jobs, cut from teams, broken up. And people we love and care about have experienced these things as well. 

We navigate our relational worlds, wondering who is safe and if the bottom will fall out on a relationship. 

We then take this feeling and fear into our relationship with God. We wonder, like the prophet Habakkuk, “Can I trust God? Is God good? Is God really in charge of things?”

In Habakkuk 1:12-2:5, Habakkuk questions God and says, “I get that you have a plan, but I have questions about your plan.” All of us can relate to this on some level. We see God’s hand and think, “I would’ve done that differently.”

But God tells Habakkuk something key in 2:4: “The righteous shall live by faith.” 

Where is our faith put? In God. 

Trust starts with who we are trusting in.

How do we know whether to trust someone? Should we trust God?

Henry Cloud’s book on Trust: Knowing When to Give It, When to Withhold It, How to Earn It, and How to Fix It When It Gets Broken, says there are 5 essentials of trust: 

The first is understanding.

According to Cloud, understanding is feeling known and understood by the other person. 

This is important in any relationship. To feel safe and trust the other person, I have to know that they know me, that I’m safe, and that they understand me and my feelings. 

Do you feel like God understands you? Knows you? Do you feel safe and secure in your relationship with God? 

Habakkuk would say he felt understood by God. He was safe and secure enough to tell God what he thought and felt. 

The second is Motive.

According to Cloud, motive is believing that the other person has your best interests at heart. This is believing that God does want what’s best for you. 

The best for us isn’t always comfortable or easy. A doctor will tell us to change our diet to improve our health. Is that the best thing for us? Yes. Do we want to stop eating certain things? No. A financial planner or coach will tell us to make this choice with our money or that choice with our life or health. 

Will we want to do that? Not always, but it is best for us. 

Habakkuk believes God has his best interest at heart. He just doesn’t understand why God is doing it. 

The difference is crucial. 

The third is ability. 

The third essential to trust is ability. 

This is believing that God is able to do what He promises. That God can do what we need him to do. 

Can God come through? Yes, God can heal. Yes, God brings about miracles. 

The bible is a resounding yes to God’s ability to do what He promises. 

The fourth is character.

The fourth essential is character. 

Who God is, that his character is trustworthy. 

That we trust God is good, true. 

The fifth is track record.

The last essential is track record. 

This is looking at who God is and what God has done in our past, others’ past, and throughout scripture, and seeing his track record. 

For me, this is one I will struggle with as it relates to God. 

When God doesn’t do something at present the way he did in the past or in the same time frame. 

But this is the testing of our faith.

When we trust someone, we are trusting their character. Who they are, their past performance, and whether they have proven themselves trustworthy.