Jul. 26, 2026

How God Builds Trust

Introduction

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This message is a personal growth message. All of us should be steadily maturing and

advancing as Christians, being changed by God from one state of glory to a higher state of glory. At the

center of this journey is the building of trust in God Himself. If you think about it, this pleases God

probably more than anything else we can do. The stories of heroes of faith are loaded with examples of

people who were in trying circumstances and they trusted God to help them. What is not recorded or

amplified is the activity our modern churches spend time on: singing expressive worship songs to God,

praying extensive prayers to God full of many words, writing books and learned theses on God (who He is

and how He works), making videos explaining great mysteries of God, creating seeker-friendly programs and

building ever-larger churches to enhance the listener’s audio-visual experience so they will be attracted to

hear more, etc. The life of the modern Christian is very predictable: Attend church, do the group activities, go

home and resume normal life, repeat everything one week later. Normally, nothing interrupts this cycle.

1 Tim 6:17 - Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in

uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; KJV

Our society trusts in riches more than we think. Most of our needs are supplied by riches in some way. Many

people have little need for God’s help because the government provides our basic needs and the needs of

those around us. In line right after the government are medical workers. We don’t need God unless our

medical condition is not helped by existing medical services. We are not presently involved in a war on our

soil, so we have little concern for wars and no really serious shortages of goods to live on. Many of these

things are blessings of God, but an unfortunate result is that we Christians don’t take many risks. Our goal as

Christians seems to be to insulate our lives so that we don’t have any troubles, ever, for any reason. We

desperately hope that all that we ever experience are common problems, experienced by all mankind, that is,

your tires will wear out, your teeth will decay, your hair will need cut, your body parts will need some minor

procedures. Your house will need painted, your furnace repaired.

We western Christians need to ask ourselves a question: How do we think trust is developed? The answer

is that it only develops when we are in a predicament which has no immediate earthly solution. In this

case, the Christian must rely completely on God for His help. When we do this we demonstrate our reliance

on Him. Another word for reliance is trust. So, when we see predicaments developing which seem to come

out of nowhere, we are taught to rejoice.

James 1:2-4 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, 3knowing

that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4And let endurance have its perfect result, so that

you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. NASB

Modern church life would probably seem strange to a guy like Gideon. In Numbers 6-8, Gideon’s exploits are

recorded. He was the youngest son of Joash the Abiezrite, a member of a lowly family within the tribe of

Manasseh. At one point in his life, the land of the Israelites had been occupied by the Midianites, who used

them and their land at will.

Judges 6:11-16 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which

belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to

save it from the Midianites. 12And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD

is with you, valiant warrior.” 13Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then

has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying,

‘Did the LORD not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us

over to Midian.” 14And the LORD looked at him and said, “Go in this strength of yours and save Israel

from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” 15But he said to Him, “O Lord, how am I to save

Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” 16Yet

the LORD said to him, “I will certainly be with you, and you will defeat Midian as one man.” NASB

As the story goes, Gideon accepted this challenge, but asked the angel to confirm it to him twice, using the

well known “fleece” as a sign in which he requested the fleece be wet and the surrounding ground dry and

then the reverse as a second sign. God did both for him. Then, after gathering 22,000 people to fight the

Midianites, the Lord told him he had too many people, which would give glory to Israel. This cut the group to

10,000. This was still too many, so the Lord winnowed the group down to 300 by removing all those who,

when brought to a place to drink, licked the water as a dog would rather than lapping it from their hands. With

only these men, Gideon staged a surprise attack by using trumpets, empty pitchers and torches. Breaking the

pitchers in unison, Gideon’s surprise so shocked the Midianites that they fled and began killing each other in

the confusion. The men of Manasseh summoned the men from the tribes of Naphtali and Asher and captured

the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb and killed them. In all, 120,000 swordsmen were killed by what

started with Gideon’s 300 men, all because he took a God-directed risk Many other surrounding lands were

freed from Midianite oppression. Gideon ushered in a period of 40 years of peace because of his obedience.

Take Godly Risks

The lesson we can take from this story is for us to put ourselves in places where you are taking small, God-

sized risks - take in the homeless, attend to the widows, have something to do with the unsaved, gather with

the saints into small meetings, satisfy the needs of the poor, etc. Isaiah 58 says it well:

Isaiah 58:6-14 “Is this not the fast that I choose: To release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the

ropes of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to break your

bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover

him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 then your light will break out like the dawn, and

your recovery will spring up quickly; And your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the LORD

will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and He will

say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking

wickedness, 10 And if you offer yourself to the hungry And satisfy the need of the afflicted,Then your

light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the LORD will continually

guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will

be like a watered garden,And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among

you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the

repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. 13 If, because of the Sabbath, you

restrain your foot from doing as you wish on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a pleasure, and the

holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own

pleasure And speaking your own word, 14 then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will make you

ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the

mouth of the LORD has spoken.” NASB

Conclusion - Building trust doesn’t involve taking foolish risks outside of Bible commands. For example, we

are never told to take our entire worldly savings and buy lottery tickets so our net worth will increase. The

reality is that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, so He does not need the lottery to help a needy person.

He will, however, use the little bit you do have as you give it to his kingdom work or to help needy people you

meet. Admittedly, there are some problems in life which we can and should avoid or minimize through

wisdom, like eating poor food, having poor eating habits, or practicing poor living habits. They are not the

focus of this message. By contrast, Gideon took a God-appointed risk. This is the only way trust will be

built. It is probably the most pleasing thing we can do for the Lord. So be bold and take a God-risk: Don’t be

afraid to lead, assume responsibility, or speak in front of people. You’ll make God happy!