How To Trust God’s Love With Faith And Hope

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It’s not easy to trust God’s love when He says “no” to our wants and desires.

I can remember how frustrated I would get as a child when…

I just wanted to lay on the couch and watch TV but my dad insisted I cut the grass or wash the car. Of course, practicing the piano or organ and getting parental approval before going to a movie were unwelcome non-negotiables.

Like many others, my parents didn’t allow me to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted but I never doubted their love.

So, why are we often tempted to doubt God’s love when He doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want?

The Bible tells us…

Trust in the Lord and do good.
    Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and He will give you your heart’s desires.

Psalm 37:3–4

Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?

Romans 8:32

“You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Matthew 21:22

It’s verses like these that Prosperity Preachers use to convince people in the pew that God will give them whatever they need/want to be healthy, wealthy, and happy.

But God is our perfect loving Father. He cares about more than our immediate pleasure; He cares about our eternal future. Good parents care more about preparing their children for the future than they do about keeping them jubilant 24/7.

And our loving, gracious, and merciful heavenly Father cares most about preparing us for our eternal future.

So, He promises that…

He loves…

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is His faithfulness;
    His mercies begin afresh each morning.

Lamentations 3:22–23

He is gracious and merciful…

Everything He does reveals His glory and majesty.
    His righteousness never fails.
He causes us to remember His wonderful works.
    How gracious and merciful is our Lord!

Psalm 111:3–4

He gave Jesus to save us, His Word and Spirit to guide us, and people to love and encourage us.

Because of His love, our Heavenly Father gives us what we need daily and prepares our hearts and minds to be with Him forever.

When you and I don’t understand why God is allowing our present pain and problems … He invites us to remember that He is our gracious loving Father. He knows us and He knows our future. We can trust Him to do and give what He knows is best.

Paul wrote…

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

Romans 5:3–5

When life doesn’t look the way we want, let’s pray for the endurance we need today and the strength and hope we need to focus on the glorious eternal future our loving heavenly Father has promised.

A Prayer to Trust God’s Love with Faith and Hope

Heavenly Father, I’m pausing today to acknowledge You our only perfect parent. Jesus called You Father and told us to call You Father. (Matthew 23:9) He said that He is the Way to You, our Father. (John 14:6) And Your Word tells us that You claim us as Your children. (Romans 8:16)

Please forgive me for being a petulant whiney child. Forgive me for the times I’ve failed to trust Your promises and doubted Your love when You don’t give me what I want. I lost patience with my children when they behaved like that … yet, You patiently watch and wait for me to grow in wisdom and understanding with unfailing love. I thank and praise You.

Please fill me with Your Spirit. Give me deep roots that grow deep into the soil of Your love. Give me the wisdom and understanding I need to do Your will with the attitude You desire. Through Your Spirit, please increase my faith to trust and obey You and fill me with the confident hope of Jesus so that I might keep my focus on Your promises for the beautiful future ahead.

I praise and worship You for Your grace, mercy, and perfect love. Thank you, Father. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

You may not have had a loving caring father. In fact, because of your relationship with your earthly father, it may be really hard for you to relate to God as Father.

With the Spirit’s help, you and I can surrender our earthly struggles with an imperfect parent and cling to the TRUTH that the Bible tells us about our perfect Heavenly Father.

God the Father is…

• Love. 1 John 4:8
• Patient and Kind. Romans 2:4
• Compassionate. Psalm 103:8
• Strong. Psalm 24:8
• Forgiving. 1 John 1:9
• Caring. Deuteronomy 1:31
• Place of Safety. 2 Samuel 22:3

And He wants a relationship with you and me. Romans 8:14–17

 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” – v. 15

I believe this quote from Matthew West sums it up well…

To be called a child of God – there is no greater distinction. I love the final sentence of that Scripture with that emphatic exclamation mark. What a powerful assurance. Right here, right now, in this very moment, no matter how good or bad you feel about yourself, you’re a beloved child of God. Throughout Scripture, God is conveying this message. He made you, He loves you, He pursues you, He’s not done with you, and He’s called you His child.

May your Heavenly Father hold you close and bless you with His love today and always.

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