Before I completely committed my life to Christ, I saw Christianity as a type of spiritual “fire insurance;” that is, I did not want to go to hell. I have met many people who do not want to go to hell, but they are not willing to truly trust Jesus to be the Lord (master) of their lives.

Paul, the apostle, revealed his confident trust in Christ when he declared in 2 Timothy 1:12; “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” Paul did not say, “I know what I believe,” he said, “I know whom I believed.” He had a deep and abiding relationship with a Person—Jesus Christ.

God does not expect a blind trust in Him. He reveals who He is in scripture so that as we get to know who He is, we can more fully trust Him based on knowledge (scripture). Trust is based on predictability and character. We learn about God’s consistency and character through the scriptures that reveal what God is like and how He has shown His love and commitment to man throughout history.

We do not trust in the Lord for His benefits. Although it is true He will “daily load us with benefits” (Psalms 68:19), we trust Him because we love Him. A young man complained to me once, “God doesn’t work for me. I served God faithfully, and was hoping a certain Christian girl would develop a relationship with me, but it didn’t work out. I just cannot trust God anymore.” Clearly, he was serving God for selfish reasons. He was trying to use God to gain something for himself.

We trust Christ because He laid down his life for us, not to get something from Him. If we truly love Him, we will obey Him and trust Him completely to guide our lives. Always remember, we trust and serve God for one reason, because He is God.