What it Means to Trust in the Lord
The pursuit of happiness is a fundamental axiom of our culture. People propose all sorts of ways to achieve joy. However, God has declared happiness is possible only through Him and His word. Psalm 40 connects your happiness to trust in the Lord. But the question remains: what does trusting in the Lord actually mean?
In our study of the Psalms so far, we have seen a number of truths about happiness. It depends on whether you are on the world’s side or Jesus side. Belonging to God leads to happiness. Those who have God as their refuge are happy. Amazingly, the Psalms have still have more to say about happiness. But thus far, we could summarize the Psalms teaching about happiness as
Your happiness is directly dependent on the state of your relationship to God.
Every Psalm thus far has fleshed out this fundamental truth. It isn’t your circumstances that determine your happiness. Happiness is found in God alone and therefore how happy you are is dependent on how you relate to the one who created you.
Psalm 40 expounds on this principle further. The Psalm is full of thanksgiving, praise, and petition. But what shines most clearly is the Psalmists relationship with the Lord. In the second section of the Psalm, the author connects happiness to trust in the Lord. You can read the whole Psalm, or read verse 4 below.
How happy is the man who has put his trust in the Lord and has not turned to the proud or to those who run after lies!
Psalm 40:4, HCSB
If this verse was given out of context, it would not be very helpful. But from the surrounding verses, there are at least 4 clarifying truths which define for you what trust in the Lord really looks like.
1. The alternatives to trusting the Lord
Turning to the proud for help
This is the first of two “counterfeits” Psalm 40:4 gives to trusting the Lord. “Turning to the proud” simply means running to those who do not rely on the Lord for help in times of trouble. The proud don’t need the Lord. Pride keeps us from humble dependence on the one who created us. It is an attitude of self-sufficiency. Even though you can know that pride is a sin, in times of difficulty, stress, or trial, it can be tempting to turn to prideful people for help.
Where do you go when times are difficult? Oftentimes it is so easy to go to anyone but the Lord. Psalm 40 warns you: if you seek help from people who don’t love the Lord, you will not end up happy. Even though people who don’t seem to need the Lord appear to have their lives together, self-sufficient people cannot ultimately aid you in your time of need.
The best help you can give someone in suffering or difficulty is pointing them back to the Lord. God-dependent people encourage others to depend on God.
Turing to lies for help
The second “counterfeit” is turning to lies. I take “lies” in this passage to mean “anything that claims authority but is contrary to God’s revealed instruction”. As soon as times get difficult you are bombarded with solutions and worldviews which seek to help you. They may sound incredibly appealing. Some promise quick fixes or support. But Psalm 40 says if you run after those things, happiness will elude you.
How can the Psalmist say this? Because anything contrary to God’s word is contrary to reality. The Bible doesn’t claim to be a nice book that is sometimes helpful. No, God’s word claims to reveal what the world really is like. It is not enough to read your Bible when times are good but run to worldly thinking in times of difficulty. If a teaching or an ideology is contrary to the Bible, it is a lie. Running after a lie will send you on the fast track away from the Lord and away from happiness.
Both self-sufficiency and living according to teaching contrary to Scripture demonstrate a heart which is not trusting the Lord.
2. Trust in the Lord means waiting on the Lord
Psalm 40 starts out with an example of trusting the Lord. The Psalmist simply waits patiently. If you read the following verses, it seems the Psalmist had been crying out to God for help during an adverse circumstance. But the phrase “I waited patiently for the Lord” points to the reality that God did not deliver the Psalmist right away. So the Psalmist had to wait.
One of my favorite Christian books on dating has an amazing quote.
The normal posture of the Christian life is waiting.
Deepak Reju
What a helpful quote. I think a lot of times it is easy to make your trust in the Lord conditional on whether He solves your problems right away or not. You might think to yourself “I’m trusting the Lord! So why hasn’t He removed (fill in the blank difficulty, trial, etc.)?” Such a heart attitude fails to recognize a major part of trusting the Lord is waiting patiently for Him to act.
Isaiah 30:18 even further clarifies this point.
Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion, for the Lord is a just God. All who wait patiently for Him are happy.
Isaiah 30:18, HCSB emphasis added
God does not promise to act in your timing. He doesn’t follow your schedule or remove every burden the very second you desire it removed. But look at what He does promise! You can be happy in the waiting. Why? Because waiting on the Lord to act means you are trusting, relying, and depending on God not yourself. And if God is the one in control, what do you have to fear? He will either deal with your problem in due time or change you so that you can bear the problem.
3. Trust in the Lord means delighting in His word
Verses 6-8 give another picture of what trusting the Lord looks like. Rather than listening to the lies of the world around him, the Psalmist instead has God’s instruction living within Him. The Psalmist even goes farther than that and says he delights to do God’s will. What is the significance of this?
If you are trusting in the Lord, you will be one of those people who is always consulting their Bible.
Oftentimes, “trust in the Lord” is an abstract thing. It can be very hard to discern whether you are trusting God or something else. Want to know a simple check to see what you are trusting? Ask yourself what you listen to. Who you listen to. What you read. Those who trust the Lord are humbly dependent on God’s word and it is their delight. They see the value of it.
If you trust the Lord, His word will be your primary “counselor” as it says in Psalm 119:24.
Your decrees are my delight and my counselors.
Psalm 119:24
Who do you consult first when something goes wrong? Which people do you contact? The writer of Psalm 119 consulted God’s word. You will not find happiness until you trust the Lord. And you will not truly trust the Lord unless you run to His word in every circumstance.
4. Trust in the Lord means sharing Him with others
Waiting patiently on the Lord and consulting His word are both very private and personal ways you actively trust God. However, Biblical faith never stays private. If you read verses 9-10 of Psalm 40, you see the Psalmist proclaiming God’s greatness. Why?
Hide God’s word in your heart. Reveal God’s greatness with your praise.
When the Psalmist saw God’s worth, when God delivered him from distress, the only logical outcome was for the Psalmist to publicly praise the Lord. The words used in Psalm 40:9-10 are “proclaim”, “did not hide”, “spoke about,” and “did not conceal”. The Psalmist is making it evident to his hearers that God is worthy.
What is the goal of all this praise and proclamation? Verse 16 of the Psalm gives the answer:
Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation continually say, “The Lord is great!”
Psalm 40:16, HCSB
When you are trusting the Lord and you see the happiness that comes from trusting the Lord, you should want to share it with others. Your heart should want other people to realize the Lord is great and to put their trust in Him. Evangelism and sharing God’s word with others should not be a difficult burdensome task. Not for a person who has trusted in God.
An analogy might be helpful. Imagine you have some terminal illness. You decide to try out a new, experimental treatment. Then imagine that treatment completely cures you. Now, if you knew that there were other people who had that same illness and were in need of that same treatment, would you need anyone to force you to tell other people?
For those who have trusted in the Lord and tasted His goodness, it is no great sacrifice or difficulty to proclaim to others how great God is. How faithful His love is to those who fear His name. In fact, one of the ways to tell if you are actually trusting in the Lord is to examine how yous speak about Him to others. Do you speak about His love towards you with others? Is there a desire in your heart for everyone to say “Yes! You are right. God is great. I shall trust in Him alone?”
Conclusion
Trusting the Lord isn’t some abstract thing. It is immensely practical. You cannot be truly happy without it. Trust in the Lord is simply abandoning self-sufficiency and other “quick fixes” and patiently waiting for the Lord to act. In the meantime you make God’s word your instruction. And when the Lord does act, you praise Him publicly so others are reminded to put their trust in Him.
If you feel that happiness eludes you, ask yourself honestly before the Lord “Who or what am I trusting?”
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