SESSION IV   

TRUST: THE BRIDGE TO JOY

 

 

Characteristics of trust:

• Its primary task is to believe in the One whom God has sent us.

• It is hard work

• Has no starting time, not ending date

• Antithesis of stress; of anxiety (Read Psalm 44; Romans 15:13)

• It is to put one’s faith in

 

We have to raise our weary arms to God saying, “All these moments are for you. They are gifts from You.” Trust that all our moments are good. 

 

Pasteo is used 220 times in the New Testament.  It is belief; it is to put one’s faith in and to trust.  Belief in God is more than a mental assent.  Belief is a verb; it is something that you do.  Belief is a matter of trusting the One we believe saves us. 

 

Joy and peace comes only when we trust.  To choose stress, worry and anxiety is to reject what God has given. It is an act of disbelief. It is atheism.  

 

ANYTHING LESS THAN GRATITUDE AND TRUST IS PRACTICAL ATHEISM. 

Psalm 136 is the Israelite’s gratitude journal.  

 

Remembering is a way of thanksgiving.  Gratitude is not only the memories of our heart; gratitude is the memory of God’s heart that shapes our trust in God’s heart.   

 

Count your blessings so that you can trust.  Every time you are stressed, you are advertising the unreliability of God. 

 

Thanksgiving is what builds trust.   Trust is the bridge from yesterday to tomorrow.  Thanksgiving is the road to joy in Him.  

 

Eucharisteo    -         the     crux    of       Christianity     is remembering; giving thanks.   To give thanks is an action; rejoice is a verb.   The feeling of joy is the act of thanksgiving.   Joy is God; God is joy.  

  

Personal Reflection: 

Do you believe that trust is hard work or easy for you?

 

Think of the many planks, the planks of thanks that you have built in your life that you believe has made you to trust God at all times.  Identify the ways God has been your Bridge Builder and the things He has done to show you He is present, powerful and building bridges for you.

 

Read James 1:2-4, Philippians 4:4-7, and Romans 15:13.  What is the connection between trust and joy?  How can trust in God become a bridge to lasting and growing joy in our lives? 

 

Our Prayer: 

• Invite God to help you identify and accept the hard times of life that we all face.

• Pray for growing levels of trust in God, no matter what you face.

• Ask for the Holy Spirit to grow joy in you as you learn to trust God. 

• Declare your belief in God’s goodness and the saving power of Jesus Christ.

• Ask God to help you remember His goodness in the past so that your trust grows and your joy overflows.

• Thank God that He is trustworthy, even in the hard times of life.