Habit 2:  Trust God to Provide

Trust is a foundational concept for practicing stewardship.  This may be one of the most difficult habits of all to develop.  For many of us, it’s easier to trust God for our eternal salvation than it is to trust him for our daily living.  When it comes to practical things like putting food on our table or making the mortgage payment, we operate as if we are on our own.  As a result we often worry and experience anxiety.

Fear is the result of our inability to trust God in all aspects of our lives.  This actually causes some of us to stockpile assets beyond all reason.  Others worry about every possibility of loss, including health issues, layoffs and economic collapse.  There’s a big difference between constructive planning – and destructive worry.  There is no reason for us to be bound by fear.  We need to put our trust in God and to commit both our faith and our finances to Him.

“Instruct those who are rich in this present world not. . .to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (I Timothy 6:17).  Even though our culture tempts us to believe that accumulation brings happiness, as Christians we need to focus on trusting God.  He has much to give us of far greater value than anything we can ever purchase or accumulate.

Trusting God to provide also means operating on His timetable and not our own.   This is extremely difficult in many situations.  We tend to want our needs met immediately.  If this were always the case, there would be no opportunity for us to strengthen our faith – to believe and trust that our needs will be met according to God’s plan.  These opportunities help to teach us patience and reliance on God.