How do we trust God?

To trust God, is to believe that His life of unconditional love is the only way to live, and sincerely make an effort to live it. This means that we must have absolute trust, that through love we can overcome all obstacles. We must believe that love can break all barriers and change human hearts. To believe in him is also to have absolute trust in his love, mercy and wisdom. To believe in Him therefore, is not a feeling or an emotion or mere recognition that God is Lord of our life (because even the devil knows that); rather, it is a combination of conviction and action. If we recognize that we are sinners and accept God’s help by trusting his decisions, then even if our faith in Him is as small as a mustard seed, He can help us to make it mighty enough to move mountains.

In order to trust God we need humility. Humility clears our heart of pride, and opens it to the word of God. When we accept His word, we have trust in him. This brings us peace. His word also brings us wisdom; because, he is the source of all wisdom. We can therefore, never have true wisdom or peace without humility.

When we do not get what we ask for or receive the opposite of what we asked for, we doubt God. However, we should remember, that he has already given us the only gift we really need, namely, the gift of his own life. Furthermore, he always answers our prayers. He answers them in such a manner, that in the long run it will make us a people with greater faith and love. Because of this, He may not give us exactly what we asked for, or He may delay granting our petition, or may even allow tragedy to come upon us (like He did to Job). If we accept God's help by trusting His decisions, He can help us by doing what is best for us. We should accept His will without even knowing what it is and (in our heart) allow Him to do whatever He feels is right. When we distrust his plan and want only our own plan, we reject his help.

Sometimes, everything seems to go wrong in our life. We pray, but it seems like it does not make a difference. In fact, it seems like, as we intensify our prayer, our problems increase. We feel that even God has abandoned us, or does not seem to care. As our problems increase, our prayers seem to become lifeless, and we cease to feel the presence of God. But we must not give up, and continue to pray, because, God will never abandon us. In fact, God is always working on our problems; even those we are not yet aware of. We must believe, that in the end, with God’s help everything will turn out good.

Many people lose faith in God when they see evil and natural disasters in the World. They feel that, if God is really present or really loves us, He will not allow evil. This feeling becomes even stronger, when they see children and innocent people suffer. However, it is not God, but our selfishness, that produces evil in the world. Even natural disasters, which some people erroneously refer to as “acts of God”, are result of our selfishness. Since we have dominion over the World, our acts affect the balance in nature. So that when our acts go against nature, the balance in nature is disturbed to produce natural disasters and diseases. Similarly, our evil acts directly affect others and cause them hurt. The hurt that evil produces affects everyone; including those who live holy lives. God allows evil, because, He has given us free will; which is essential, in order for us to exercise unconditional love. If we did not have free will, we will never be able to love others unconditionally, because, to love is a choice, and every choice needs a free will. God wants us to have love, because he wants us to be one with him and share his life, which is love. In addition, he wants us to live a life of love, because, he wants us to have peace and joy.

He brings peace and joy to those who are suffering by giving redemptive value to pain and suffering. He did this by freely accepting pain and suffering, in order to empty self completely on our behalf. In other words, he emptied himself of self, by leaving himself totally open to pain and suffering. We too can use our pain and suffering to empty ourselves of self, not only on our behalf, but also on behalf of those who need our help by quietly accepting them. We can also quietly accept pain and suffering in the process of helping others. We will then find peace and joy; because, our attention will be directed towards those in need, and not on our self. On the other, hand if we are selfish, and focus our attention on our self, we will become bitter and unhappy. God also brings relief to those who are suffering, through the love and compassion of those who selflessly serve others. Furthermore, He is making the World a better place and freeing us from the captivity of sin, by nourishing us with His own sacrificial body and blood.

Works with selfish motives produce anxiety, because, they depend on self, and are directed to self. On the other hand, works of true love are free of anxiety; because, they depend on God, and not on self. We should therefore, be calm, know that God is in charge, and accept in our heart whatever God wants to do through us, without actually knowing what it is. If we take this attitude, we allow God to do what He feels is best for us. We should not worry if there is a waiting period, when nothing seems to happen. We may even have periods, when it seems like we have absolutely no contact with God, like we are in total darkness. God allows such periods of total darkness, because, he wants us to mature into trusting him completely, even when there is total darkness. Such periods therefore, are the most fertile periods in the life of our soul. In addition, they make us humble, by making us realize our dependence on God. Our humility then allows God to work through us; because, when we are humble we tend to surrender to God’s will. This is why God’s greatest works are always done through humble people. Humility also enables us to appreciate God’s good deeds for us. This brings us joy.

We should not get anxious about the results of our works, because, if our works are truly good, they are God’s work, and not ours. The results of our works may be a total failure in the eyes of the World, and may not become evident in our lifetime. However, our fulfillment comes from accepting God's will and letting him work through us; and not from what people think about our works.

We can choose, either God (who is unconditional love), or selfishness (which involves money, power and lust). When we choose selfishness, we become fearful, jealous, angry, hateful, revengeful, insecure and hopeless. This puts us in a state of total isolation, which, in essence, is hell. When we choose God, we accept His will, and live His life of unconditional love. This frees us from anxiety, feeling of insecurity, fear and selfishness, and brings us joy and peace. We will then first think about others, and reach out to help them. We will then do good deeds, not because we fear hell or want to win heaven or want people to think that we are good, but, because, we love and trust God.

To trust God, we must know him. To know him, we must open to our heart him by staying quiet and listening to his voice in the depth of our heart. We must remove every thought of hate, greed, lust, jealousy and revenge from our heart, and let only the thoughts of unconditional love permeate our spirit. We must keep in mind that because of his infinite love for us, Jesus went through the most horrifying suffering in the process of giving us his life. We must therefore, treasure his love deep in our heart, cling to it (by living it) and never doubt it. If we accept it, we will hear his voice and will be filled with his peace.