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Not Trusting God Leads to Stress
By Rick Warren

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” (Psalm 20:7 NIV)

Everyone trusts something. The question is, what — or who — do you trust?

Our society tends to spurn trust — or at least we say we do. We’re skeptical of everyone and everything. We don’t trust the government. Employees don’t trust employers. Customers don’t trust businesses. When you get down to the bottom of the decline of trust today, you’ll find that our society’s “truth decay” is a big part of it.

Truth and trust go together. You trust people who tell you the truth. You don’t trust people if you don’t think they’re telling you the truth. And if you don’t believe in absolute truth, then you can’t trust anyone to tell you the truth.

Our lack of trust causes us tremendous stress in life. We were born to trust. God wired us with the capacity and desire to trust in something greater than ourselves because he wanted us to have a relationship with him.

If you don’t trust God, you will create something else to trust. It may be a diploma on the wall, money in the bank, your spouse, your career, or a hobby. This desire to trust in something larger than ourselves is nothing new either. The biblical writers were keenly aware of it in their cultures as well. The Bible says in Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (NIV).

The Bible has a word for whatever we place our trust in rather than God. The Bible calls it an “idol.” God’s Word says that, for our own good, we need to stay away from idols: “For your own good ... do not sin by making for yourselves an idol in any form” (Deuteronomy 4:15b-16a GNT).

Talk It Over

What are you tempted to trust in rather than God?

How does a lack of trust in God lead to stress in your life?

Look at the areas of stress in your life. What do they reveal about your trust in God? How can you change that?