Trust Fall With God

Have you ever participated in a trust fall? We did this one Sunday at church and it was interesting to see just how difficult this was for some people. 

In a trust fall you stand in front of someone and cross your arms in front of you. You hold your legs straight, careful not to bend them and, when your partner is ready, you fall straight back. Your partner is in charge of catching you and not letting you fall. You must have a very strong level of trust in your partner to achieve this. Some found this terribly difficult, some would not do it at all and some fell back with little hesitation.

How does this compare to our level of trust in God? If he were standing behind you would you “trust fall with God”?

The Bible is full of examples of spiritual trust falls. One of my favorites is in the book of Esther. Esther is told by her Uncle Mordecai that the king has declared that all Jewish people shall be put to death. Mordecai tells Esther she must ask the king not to do this but she is unsure that she can follow through. Finally she has trust in herself, and in God, and throws her life into his hands. Although God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, we know she was praying and fasting, asking him to be with her. 

Another instance of spiritual trust is in the book of Daniel when he is thrown into the lions den. Daniel is put there for worshiping God and not the king. Daniel puts all of his trust in God to keep him safe against the hungry lions. He spends the night in the lions den but, thanks to God, is not harmed. Daniel has demonstrated a great level of spiritual trust. 

In the book of Jonah, Jonah has a very low level of spiritual trust. God asks him to go to the people of Nineveh and tell them to stop sinning. Jonah does not want to do this and instead of obeying God he decides to run from him. Jonah gets swallowed by a big fish and it is there that he does a great amount of praying, increasing his spiritual trust. Jonah accepts God’s assignment for him and goes to Nineveh, the people repent. 

Through Bible verses we can increase our spiritual trust in God. In particular Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight”. This is something that does not come natural to us as humans. We are naturally inclined to trust in ourselves and to be in control of our own lives. It may be extremely difficult to fall back to God in this instance. Some of us, like the people I observed, will not fall back at all. 

In order to develop our spiritual trust we must first have a great level of faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. Faith is defined as something we cannot see. We cannot see God but we know he is there working in our lives. True faith is achieved through completely committing ourselves to him. In order to have spiritual trust we must have faith. Faith and trust go hand in hand. 

You can obtain spiritual trust through prayer and reading the Bible. The closer you get to him, the closer he gets to you. (James 4:8) Soon you will find yourself relying on him through a variety of situations throughout the day. 

Spiritual trust can help you to maintain a steady stream of peace. Have you ever gone to a church service or gathering and felt completely relaxed and at peace afterward? What you feel is your body falling back on him. 

Don’t be afraid. Talk to God, grow in him. Let your body develop that spiritual trust we all so desperately need in our lives. Be one with him and trust fall with God.

Dear God, be with us, fill us with your spirit so we may be full of your love and kindness. Help us to develop the level of spiritual trust we need in our life and fall back to you. Amen


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