How to trust God step by step?

Do you recall when you first said Jesus is Lord?

Just trying to determine what is wrong.
Can I ask you a question?

It’s just something Christian’s want to do. So they pray about it and it happens. Some effort too striving to be patient and suffer rightly. The wrath of man or woman does not accomplish the will of God. You can ask for anything. That you can handle the trial. That you go around the anger. If you pray for God to increase your patients he will give you trials to handle. Don’t be afraid, I think that’s who you want to be. One who handles trials with patience. It’s no magic formula. After overloading yourself with so much to handle you are going to suffer a little. But God will help you, through the Holy Spirit. The joy of the Lord is your strength also. Whistle while you work.’

Macchiato said:

After all these years of being a Christian or proclaiming to be saved.. I truly realize I dont trust God and I hate when I have to.

When things don't go thr way I want or need them to I get angry, mad and upset..

How do you all do it..

Someone pointed out to me that suffering produces character and character hope..

But its not doing that for me..

I really need help in this area.

Click to expand...

First, let me say that you are certainly not alone in finding it difficult to trust God when things go wrong for you. I find it helpful when things are not going as I would wish them to, to think of this verse from Romans 8:

(Rom 8:28) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

If we love God, if we are "the called according to His purpose," then we can be sure that how ever bad things might seem to us, God will cause them to work together for our ultimate good.

By the way, the idea of suffering producing character and hope is also from Romans:

(Rom 5:1) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
(Rom 5:2) through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
(Rom 5:3) And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
(Rom 5:4) and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
(Rom 5:5) Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
(Rom 5:6) For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

I've had this struggle for a long time. I hang in there but I don't like God much at times.

Even my old pastor at one stage said to me "All He's (God's) done all your life is to humiliate you! ... What have you done to deserve all this??!"

But at another point he stated why he thought "That's why you get into so much trouble and you don't do much to deserve it".

He added "He (God) humiliated His own Son".

He added "I don't think things will change much until you learn to praise Him." He then quoted Paul's advice from Thessalonians -

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV "... give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

Click to expand...

It's not easy. I don't like it but I may just have to do it.

There is a book called "From Prison to Praise" by Merlin Carothers. You might get some encouragement if you read it (assuming you haven't already). The one drawback is that he was a pretty positive character to begin with, but he did spend some time in prison.

He became a chaplain in the US army during World War II, and moved on from there.

Macchiato said:

After all these years of being a Christian or proclaiming to be saved.. I truly realize I dont trust God and I hate when I have to.

When things don't go thr way I want or need them to I get angry, mad and upset..

How do you all do it..

Someone pointed out to me that suffering produces character and character hope..

But its not doing that for me..

I really need help in this area.

Click to expand...

First step is to admit your sin and run to a Saviour, who can help you.

When you don't trust God, run to God and ask Him to help to trust Him. His hand is never too short to save

Macchiato said:

After all these years of being a Christian or proclaiming to be saved.. I truly realize I dont trust God and I hate when I have to.

When things don't go thr way I want or need them to I get angry, mad and upset..

How do you all do it..

Someone pointed out to me that suffering produces character and character hope..

But its not doing that for me..

I really need help in this area.

Click to expand...

My advice is that you start commanding what you want to see in your life. I started doing that i think either end of last year or beginning this year and I do it daily morning and many things I have written down and commanded have come to pass! So, you can write down something like this: " I declare that I will trust the Lord always". " I declare that I will love the Lord My God no matter what" .

No pains, no gains.

Macchiato said:

Thank you for your honesty. When im going through i dont like God much either. .How do you hang in there? Ill try to check the book out.

Click to expand...

Basically I just keep going through the routine. Go to church, pray daily (if briefly), and keep involved with a charity of which I'm a member (St. Vincent de Paul Society).

I've found the last one helpful for a couple of reasons - the first is simply that I'm doing something for others and not myself.

Secondly, even though at times I can get a bit irritated with some of the clients, I wouldn't want to swap places. They're far worse off than I am.

I suppose it reminds me of a quote my old pastor mentioned above had in one of his sermons. He told the story of a Christian judge (I think) who had his wallet stolen on a train. He was angry at first, but then he cooled down.

He said to himself "There wasn't much money in the wallet anyway. And I thanked God it was not I who did the stealing!"

Now I have no doubt God exists. I've had far too many 'spiritual' experiences to doubt that. So I'm in the odd position that I don't always like him, but at the same time there is no way I can doubt He's there.

On the other hand I've also got no doubt that the devil exists, and he's probably responsible for some of the frustration via his human agents.

So I just keep hanging in. It's the same reason I don't "church shop". There may be more attractive and vibrant churches elsewhere.

But this is where God has put me, so I'll stay here till He makes it clear He wants me to move.

Similar reasoning applied to the pastor (again). He once ran a state orphanage in Melbourne (Australia). He did it so well he told me he was offered the management of the whole state department.

Now he lived below the poverty line for years on his pastoral salary, with a wife and six sons to support. The managerial job would have been very well paid.

But as he thought about it, he said God had put him in his pastoral position, and he would stay there. So he did, foregoing what would have been a much easier lifestyle.

Just hang in there, and maybe get involved with some sort of charity if you can.

Faith is trust. The question about salvation is what that trust is placed in. Some trust in a work they did like baptism. Some trust in what their pastor told them which risks a faith in a pastor. Some in prosperity circles trust in a comfortable life.

For Christians faith is in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus to pay for our sins.

1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

If one sees this gospel as true, it can be trusted in. This is the faith that saves.

Perhaps the greatest shortcoming of Christianity is failing to teach Christians how to advance (mature) in their faith. It is often this lack of maturity that causes Christians to fail to have assurance. Christian maturity comes from abandoning walking by the flesh and transitioning to walking by the Spirit. This is essentially giving up the pursuit of selfishness and seeking to cultivate the selflessness of Christ-likeness.

Without maturity one has little assurance as well more frequent struggles with the flesh.

Macchiato said:

After all these years of being a Christian or proclaiming to be saved.. I truly realize I dont trust God and I hate when I have to.

When things don't go thr way I want or need them to I get angry, mad and upset..

How do you all do it..

Someone pointed out to me that suffering produces character and character hope..

But its not doing that for me..

I really need help in this area.

Click to expand...

John 14:23.
"Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.'"

He seeks Agape love which is unconditional. He makes His Home in this type of Christian through His Holy Spirit. Without His Spirit within, one can not move forward towards the peace they seek.

Hope this helps.

Be blessed.

Macchiato said:

Amen to all of this!

Click to expand...

I guess im not hurting as bad as you. And maybe im emotionally flat. That’s is the way I know. I made myself do it all the way I was learning. Still not all the way there. But you are not feeling it, maybe it’s too great. But if you want to eat the whole meal it starts with one little bite

I read Matthew 27 and I step into the Lord Jesus' shoes, so to speak, and I remember that He calls me His friend in John 15:15 and I talk to Him about what He went through for me and try to imagine doing that for someone else and do my best to fathom how much I would have to love them to do such a thing.

I refer back to Hebrews 12:3 that reminds me how people treated God in the flesh, who was here to serve me and us, that they disrespected Him when He deserved great honor, and killed Him for simply telling the truth, not for doing anything wrong.

I remind myself that this is all (whatever I'm going through) meant to create negative feelings towards God in me because this is a war, and I simply refuse to accept those feelings because I know they are lies. The person who died for me, guilty of what? Loving me, forgiving me, holding me by the hand through life? I try to remember how short my memory is and all the things He has gotten me through, the answered prayers I've forgotten about, but that He nevertheless came through for me on. I remind myself just how good He really is, and I consider that such hostile feelings and rumors must have started in Heaven before the war against God began and angels turned against the one who gave them life.

Life isn't easy, and who we trust is what determines who we are. If we trust our feelings, we trust our fallen flesh, and if we trust mere men, we are easily deceived. Abraham was asked by God to give his only son, his miracle son. Moses was asked to give up a peaceful life to face a brutal tyrant and ruler of an occult empire. God's only Son was sent to live for no other reason but to die for our sins, and He didn't have a negative word to say about the disciples running or denying Him the day after His crucifixion once resurrected. He was a better friend to them than anyone could possibly ever be.

I can understand trust issues. I've had them all my life. But God has never been found by me to be lacking in trustworthiness. Not that I always trusted Him during dark days, but those dark days created trust in Him within me. I have never prayed sincerely and Him not answer me, especially when those prayers were through tears, and obvious answers at that. It's a relationship, and a relationship cannot be manufactured or pushed through sheer will. It has to be built by walking through things together with our Father.

When I am reminded that He is the best friend I have ever had and ever will have, I find more willingness to put fears and doubts and concerns away completely and jump, like little children love to do when their Father holds out his arms to catch them with a smile.

When it is dark in life, I remind myself who is holding me up and I never forget it. He is our best friend and He proves it over and over. I just keep praying. He always answers.

I'll be honest and say that when it comes to trust, there's a difference between reading a great verse and actually living it out. You can read the bible cover to cover, but true growth comes from actually walking it in your life. So when it comes to faith and trust, it's just something that comes with experience. Over time, as you walk with Him, it gets easier. So my advice is to pray and ask Him to guide you with wisdom and clarity, remind yourself that God is ultimately in control of everything, and when you're in the middle of struggling, just talk to Him.

Have you been learning to hear His voice? Because that helps a lot too. Talking to Him and seeing His answers in the everyday things can help build faith. It'll give you more confidence to walk through life because you know He isn't far from you, He's right there. He's not abstract, He's walking beside you even if you don't feel like He is. Start finding His faithfulness even in the small things, and that can help a lot when something big comes.

For an example... I've been worried about where I'm going to live for the next year while I'm taking a refresher class for my degree before I can get my license. I proposed an idea to my X, as were trying to be friends while still dealing with each other. God told me not to worry about it and that he would agree to my terms. Bout a week later, he agreed to it. It's instances like this that help root me in God. Even if no was the answer and I would have to make some tough decisions, I still knew God would move things around for me to His will. It would just be a rougher season for me for a while. So it's not about just having faith that God will settle things easily and with less aggravation, its growing in faith that even if you hit a Job season, that God has never left you and He will help you through it.

Luke 12:7: "Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

Macchiato said:

After all these years of being a Christian or proclaiming to be saved.. I truly realize I dont trust God and I hate when I have to.

When things don't go thr way I want or need them to I get angry, mad and upset..

How do you all do it..

Someone pointed out to me that suffering produces character and character hope..

But its not doing that for me..

I really need help in this area.

Click to expand...

When you have an untrustworthy image of God, you're believing a lie. You need the Holy Spirit Who testifies to God's Character. He would tell you to remember His Christ took a cross and suffered to show a depth of Love we cannot fathom. He would tell you that every lie ever invented comes from 'vanity', wherein we compare ourselves with others and either feel lifted up or put down. Every lie undermines the two commandments Love God (God is Agape) with all your heart mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself (see your neighbor as yourself).

STOP, breathe; breathe in the air and thank God for the breath; Begin by first being thankful for the least of things.

Macchiato said:

After all these years of being a Christian or proclaiming to be saved.. I truly realize I dont trust God and I hate when I have to.

When things don't go thr way I want or need them to I get angry, mad and upset..

How do you all do it..

Someone pointed out to me that suffering produces character and character hope..

But its not doing that for me..

I really need help in this area.

Click to expand...

Congratulations. You are acknowledging something many of us pretendi is not us. I am only beginning to realize that real spiritual growth is about accepting what our ego (the person we think we are) does not want, doing what it does not want to do. AND, to do it with joy, peace and trust for the love of God. It takes real sacrifice.

Most of us rationalize and beg and plead for what we want.