Trusting God vs Believing in God — The Difference Every Christian Must Know
There is a difference between believing in God and trusting in God. Let that sink in for a few moments because the difference radically impacts how we live our lives on a daily basis. Now reflect on the following question that, when answered truthfully, has the ability to shake us to our core and change how we live our lives with Christ.
Do you just believe in God and who he says he is, but live your life still tethered to a safety line, or do you also trust in God and put your faith into practice to a level that you are in trouble if God does not show up?
If I am being honest, most of my (Ryan) life has been spent tethered to the safety line. Growing up in church my entire life gave me the opportunity to learn about God, believe in God, and place my faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. There has never been any doubt about that in my mind, heart, or spirit.
The area I have had to grow in and am still massively growing in is walking out my faith in radical obedience and putting myself in positions for God to show up and show off. I have always been very risk-averse and weigh the risk of doing something vs. the potential benefits. Far too often, I have told myself I was walking in wisdom, but I was actually walking in fear. As a side note, a previous post we did called “Is it Wisdom or Is It Fear?” deals with this very topic.
Rooted 4 Legacy is a by-product of my growth and journey in this area. To be honest, starting Rooted 4 Legacy brought nervousness, discomfort, and a million “what if” questions because I did not have all the answers. This has really stretched Julie and me, but as we have moved forward one day at a time, we have seen God do amazing things in our walk with him.
A great scripture that really hits this aspect of belief vs. trust is contained in James 2:14-26. Specifically, I want us to look at verse 26, which contains the famous line “faith without works is dead”.
I remember thinking this phrase was so odd and was counter to the Biblical truth that we are saved by Faith alone. I had put my faith and trust in Jesus at a young age, never doubting my salvation, yet this verse was indicating that someone’s faith could be deemed dead if works did not accompany it. It wasn't until I was much older that I truly understood and appreciated what this scripture was communicating.
As we dive in, let’s unpack a few Greek words in this scripture using the Strong’s Concordance to see how this should practically look in our lives.
Faith = Pistis = persuasion, i.e., credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:—assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.
Works = érgon = toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication, an act:—deed, doing, labor, work.
Dead = nekrós = dead (literally or figuratively; also as a noun):—dead.
The main takeaway: If we have salvation in Christ and genuine faith, our lives should be filled with works (fruit born from the tree) to validate our faith, and this faith should be visible to everyone around us by the actions we take.
At the end of the day, this really gets to the heart of our trust in God and of what we actually believe about God deep down. Our belief in who God is and our trust in God do not always go hand in hand. The reality is we can believe that God is who he says he is, while not trusting him or going all in with him at the same time.
A Biblical example would be the story of Peter walking on water (Matthew 14:22-32). Peter had faith in Jesus and was willing to put his faith into action by stepping out of the boat onto the water. As the story shows, Peter was the only disciple willing to do this. Not a single other disciple asked to walk on water, yet they had seen Jesus do countless miracles. There is no doubt they believed he had the ability to do miraculous things, but when it came to taking on perceived risk by putting their faith into action, they did not take the opportunity.
A great practical example of this would be if my son were up in a tree and I told him he could jump out, and I would catch him. If he kept saying “I know you will catch me, Dad,” but never jumped, it would be a faith without works, which the Bible says is dead. If my son puts it all out there and jumps out of the tree, he is putting his faith in me into practice, which shows it is alive and genuine.
Both of these examples are similar to our walk with God. When we hear that faith without works is dead, it is easy to equate works only with righteous acts, as included in this scripture, which are absolutely important, including generosity, right living, kindness, love, etc. There is an aspect of walking out our faith that involves practically being the hands and feet of Jesus to others, but I believe it goes so much deeper than that.
The kicker is that many unbelievers also perform many of the righteous acts listed above. So what is it that separates a believer from an unbeliever?
What separates us from the unbelieving world is the level of faith we put into practice. These days, people won’t necessarily equate us with being Christians and followers of Jesus just because we do good deeds. But if our entire life, on a daily basis, is put in total surrender to God, and we live in a way that we are in trouble if God doesn’t show up, that truly shows our faith through our works, because we live it out every moment of the day, not just doing good deeds here and there.
Now, it is important to call out that we must discern what God is really calling us to do. God is not going to catch us if we jump out in faith on something that is against his will and direction for our life. Far too often, I have seen people make unwise choices, expect God to bless their decision, and then, when he does not show up, let it undermine their trust in Him. For more on this topic, I recommend reading our previous posts titled:
Examples of jumping out in faith and relying on God could be:
Being more open and bold about your faith at work and sharing the gospel with coworkers at the risk of rejection.
Giving your tithe on your first fruits (gross income), which is what the government taxes us on, and not just on your after-tax take-home pay (net income).
Confessing hidden sin and trusting that God will bring freedom, healing, and restoration.
Forgiving someone and working to restore a relationship when your flesh is screaming to do otherwise.
Pursuing a different career path and walking away from the job you despise but stick with because it seems safe and secure.
Being vulnerable with your heart and feelings and trusting God to heal wounds from your past.
The truth is, we are all the child up in the tree. Our Heavenly Father is saying, “jump, and I will catch you,” but the choice is ours. True faith and works that prove that faith is alive and active are when we jump out of the tree with no one to catch us but God. It is when we step out of the boat onto the water. It is when we put ourselves into a position for God to show up and show off. It is when we are in major trouble if God doesn’t show up and show off. If we are tethered with a safety line, our faith is not alive and at work. We may believe God is who he says he is, and he can do all things, but do we truly trust him? There is a difference between knowing in your head, believing in your heart, and living it out daily.
Questions to reflect on:
Are you putting your faith into practice by being the hands and feet of Jesus practically to those around you by your actions, or are you living a life of comfort and ease?
Do you have the faith to jump out of the tree and walk on water?
Are you believing and hoping that God moves in your life, o
r are you truly walking in 100% conviction and faith that he will move in your life?
What are the areas of life that you are still tethered to a safety line and experience fear when you think about fully trusting God in?
How different would your life be if you lived each day with a level of faith where you would be in trouble if God did not show up?
Prayer: Father God, I repent and ask forgiveness for the times when I have not fully trusted you and put my faith into action for any reason. I no longer want to be bound by fear, doubt, concerns about safety, or concerns about provision. I want to live a radical life of daily jumping out of the tree because I know you are my Heavenly Father and you will catch me. I know that through a life of putting faith into action, that faith will be a witness and an influence to all those around me. Strengthen me and build my trust in you. Please show me what my jump-out-of-the-tree moment is today so I can fully walk hand in hand with you. I pray all these things in Jesus name, amen.
Praying for you all!
Ryan
