“Putting our faith in Christ is not about trying harder; it means transferring our trust away from ourselves and resting in Him.”

-Timothy Keller-

From Faith to Trust: Safety in the Savior’s Hands

Faith vs. Trust

The words faith and trust are often used interchangeably; however, they are not one in the same. The scriptures teach that “faith precedes the miracle.” Hope is in the space before faith. I believe trust is a higher version of faith, and requires a high level of vulnerability in its application.

Because I'm a word nerd...

First, let’s look at the word “faith”. The Latin root of faith means “to trust.” However, the Greek root means “to persuade, to believe, to obey.” It’s important to note that Greek is more indicative of the language root the Bible would have used. From the Greek root, faith is considered “the object of belief; faithfulness; fidelity; a strict adherence to duty and fulfillment of promises.” Another meaning is “the assent of the mind to the truth of a proposition advanced by another; belief, or probably evidence of any kind.” (From the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary.) These definitions don’t feel very personal. Almost like a task.

What about the word “trust”? (Also from the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary.) One of the definitions is “confidence; a reliance or resting of the mind on integrity, veracity, justice, friendship or other sound principle of another person.” In the book of Proverbs it reads “He that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” (Prov. 29:25) Another example is “to trust in, to depend on; to have confidence in; to rely on.” 

Having faith is depending on yourself. YOU control how much faith you have. YOU decide whether or not to believe in something YOU cannot see. Having trust - that is entirely different. It’s placing your confidence in someone else. It’s vulnerable. 

Where faith says “I am choosing to believe”, trust says “I am choosing to believe in someone else.” 

That can feel almost…..risky.

It was through my studying the differences between faith and trust I received a greater understanding of why I would go through periods of remaining stuck, without receiving the miracles I was seeking, even after all I had learned about faith. I had enormous amounts of faith, but I allowed my past experiences (abuse, betrayal, abandonment) to prevent me from placing trust in all of my unseen help and in the hands of my Savior. 

It became very clear to me I would never be able to fully send away my doubts and fears simply by having an abundance of faith. I had to allow myself to trust that my Heavenly Father and Savior would not only guide me to where I needed to be, but would also rescue me from my own mistakes; rescue me without shame - simply out of Pure Love. The moment I shifted my focus from increasing my faith and decreasing my doubts and fears to simply increasing my trust in my Savior was the moment I felt the “resting of the mind” referred to. It was in that place of “rest” where I felt everything re-aligning to bring me to the miracles I was working towards. It was then I fully embraced that by putting my trust in the Lord, I shall be safe. 

Safety. THAT has always been my greatest miracle.

A miracle that can only be experienced when I choose to fully place my trust in the Lord.