Can You Trust God? In God We Trust Part 1

Can You Trust God?

Scripture References

• Luke 5
• Proverbs 3:5-6
• Psalm 20:7

Overview

In a season filled with “what-ifs,” Pastor Craig confessed that even a pastor can struggle to trust a God he cannot see. From Luke 5 he showed how Jesus turned a fisherman’s frustrating night into miraculous abundance, then offered two simple prayers that train the heart to trust. Trust grows as we obey before we understand and as we cling to God while releasing whatever we were gripping for security.

Main Points

1. The Fishermen’s Frustration (Luke 5)

• After an unproductive night, Simon and his partners were washing empty nets when Jesus asked to borrow the boat.
• When the teaching finished, Jesus told Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.”
• Polite but skeptical, Simon reminded Jesus they had caught nothing, yet obeyed anyway.
• Result: a catch so huge the nets tore and two boats nearly sank.
• Lesson: you don’t have to understand completely to obey immediately.

2. Prayer #1 — “Lord, help me obey You even when I don’t understand.”

“Lord help me to obey You even when I don’t understand.”

• God’s instructions often feel unreasonable: “Don’t worry about tomorrow,” “Bless those who persecute you,” “Lean not on your own understanding.”
• Small promptings matter.
  • Story: While scripting an At-The-Movies message, Pastor Craig felt a random nudge to add the words “sorority sister.” That weekend 30 grieving sorority sisters heard the line and sensed God saw them.
• Principle: Big miracles often follow simple acts of obedience.
• Quote: > “Outcome is God’s responsibility; obedience is yours.”

3. Get Clingy — Trust Defined

• Proverbs 3:5-6 commands us to trust (Hebrew batach – to cling) and “acknowledge/know” God.
• To cling to God we must release whatever else we’ve been clinging to—our plans, understanding, bank account, health reports, political hopes.
• Practice: Declare His promises aloud (“You will provide all my needs… You will never leave me…”).

4. Prayer #2 — “Lord, help me surrender what I cannot control.”

“Lord help me surrender what I cannot control.”

• After the miracle, the fishermen “left everything” — even the nets representing income and security — to follow Jesus.
• Surrender is costly and continual.
  • Story: Three of the Groeschel daughters battle a genetic illness. Despite expert care and persistent prayer, full healing has not yet come. The family chooses to lay down understanding and cling to God’s goodness, finding a peace “beyond human ability to understand.”

5. Some Trust in Chariots (Psalm 20:7)

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

• Modern “chariots and horses” include the economy, elections, savings accounts, or medical reports.
• Trusting God means hoping in what is unseen even at the end of a long, frustrating day.

Key Truths

• Trust is proven when obedience precedes understanding.
• Small, Spirit-prompted acts can position us for God-sized miracles.
• Clinging to God requires loosening our grip on self-reliance.
• We can surrender because the outcome rests with God, not us.
• God often shows up with provision just when we feel like giving up.

Response

• Pray both trust prayers aloud this week.
• Act on the next small prompting the Holy Spirit gives, no matter how insignificant it seems.
• List the “nets” you lean on for safety; intentionally release them to God in prayer.
• Memorize Psalm 20:7 and Proverbs 3:5-6; recite them whenever worry surfaces.
• Encourage someone else who is in a “frustrating night” to keep lowering their nets.

Closing

At the end of a discouraging night Jesus filled empty nets; at the end of our discouragement He can still do the impossible. Let go of lesser securities, cling to the One who is holding on to you, and keep obeying even when you can’t yet see the reason.

“While some trust in what they can see, we put our faith and our trust in the goodness of God.”

Prayer

Pastor Craig prayed that God’s living Word and Spirit would build faith to trust Him, comfort the brokenhearted, provide healing for his daughters and all who cry out, and draw near to everyone choosing to cling to Him today.