Trusting that God is in control even when life feels out of control can be incredibly difficult. Yet the Bible offers profound truths about God’s sovereignty and care that can give us confidence to trust Him. Here are 9000 words on what the Bible says about how to learn to trust God’s control.
God’s Sovereignty Over All Things
The starting point for trusting God’s control is understanding His complete sovereignty over everything. As Creator of the universe and all within it, God reigns supreme over all things (Genesis 1:1, Psalm 95:3-5). Nothing happens outside of His divine will and purposes (Ephesians 1:11). He “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). This means God has authority over all powers, whether seen or unseen (Colossians 1:16). He is never caught off guard but orchestrates everything for His glory and His people’s good (Romans 8:28).
Furthermore, Scripture declares nothing is too hard for the Lord (Jeremiah 32:17). He knows the end from the beginning because He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Isaiah 46:10, Revelation 22:13). His understanding has no limit (Psalm 147:5). He sees everything past, present and future with perfect clarity. As God Incarnate, Jesus upholds “all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3) and His purposes cannot be thwarted (Proverbs 19:21). Trusting God’s control starts with revering Him as the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present Sovereign Lord of the universe.
God’s Complete Awareness and Intimate Care
Not only is God fully in control, He is also fully aware of everything happening in our lives. His watchful eye never misses anything (Proverbs 15:3). The Lord intimately knows when we sit down and rise up (Psalm 139:2). He understands our thoughts even before we express them (Psalm 139:4). We cannot flee from God’s spirit or presence no matter where we go (Psalm 139:7-10). He perceives our hearts, minds, motives and deepest hurts more than we know ourselves.
Furthermore, Scripture exhorts us to cast all our cares upon the Lord, for He cares deeply for us (1 Peter 5:7). The God who marks when sparrows fall also knows how many hairs are on our heads (Luke 12:6-7). He collects our tears in a bottle and records our sorrows in His book (Psalm 56:8). We can trust God’s control because He cares intensely for our every need. His eye is on all our circumstances and He attends to every detail of our lives. His perfect awareness brings great comfort.
God Uses Everything for Our Growth
Not only does God know exactly what is happening in every situation, He also uses everything that unfolds for our greater growth in Christ. Scripture teaches God works everything together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). This means He takes even painful circumstances like grief, illness, injustice or betrayal and uses them redemptively to develop our character (Romans 5:3-5).
God tailors every experience to accomplish His perfect will in each of our lives. He prunes us to become more fruitful branches in Christ (John 15:1-8). He allows adversity to produce steadfastness and maturity within us (James 1:2-4, Hebrews 12:7-11). Even amidst overwhelming trials, we can trust God to use every detail to make us more like Jesus and bring glory to Himself. This truth anchors our souls when life feels out of control.
God Equips Us By His Spirit
Trusting God’s control becomes more feasible when we remember He equips us by His Spirit to endure all things. Jesus promised His indwelling Holy Spirit empowers believers to be His witnesses even amidst hardship and persecution (Acts 1:8). As we fix our eyes on Jesus, the Spirit renews our strength to persevere with joy and hope (Isaiah 40:31, Hebrews 12:1-3). He produces spiritual fruit within us like love, joy, peace, patience and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
The Spirit intercedes for us in ways we cannot even fathom when we feel helpless (Romans 8:26-27). He reminds us of God’s truths and comforts us with His presence (John 14:26, Acts 9:31). The Spirit leads us to find strength and support in Christian community when we feel alone. He also gives spiritual gifts to equip every believer to serve Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). As we rely on the Spirit’s help amidst life’s trials, we gain greater assurance of God’s control.
God Accomplishes His Purposes Through Us
A key way we can practically trust God’s control is remembering He works through us to accomplish His sovereign purposes. Ephesians 2:10 says believers are God’s workmanship, created to do the good works He prepared for us. God calls us to be His hands and feet as Jesus’ representatives on earth. He asks us to carry out the Great Commission by making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20).
When we surrender our lives to follow Christ’s call, we can trust God to use us mightily for His glory. Hebrews 13:20-21 says the God of peace equips us with everything good to do His will. As we step out in faith, He directs our paths and blesses our efforts for the advancement of His Kingdom. Even when we feel inept or afraid, we can have confidence that God will strengthen us to accomplish His work.
God’s Faithfulness and Unfailing Love
One of the greatest foundations for trusting God’s control is His proven faithfulness and unfailing love throughout history. Deuteronomy 7:9 proclaims “the Lord your God…is the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love.” We have countless examples of His mighty faithfulness towards His people. He kept His covenant to give Abraham a son even when it seemed impossible (Genesis 21:1-7). God remained faithful to Joseph through wrongful imprisonment before exalting Him to save nations (Genesis 37-50).
The Old Testament chronicles God’s incredible faithfulness in preserving and restoring Israel again and again despite their sin and rebellion. Ultimately, He faithfully sent Jesus at just the right time to redeem humankind (Galatians 4:4-5). God’s perfect, sacrificial love was demonstrated through Christ to all who believe (Romans 5:8). Jesus proclaimed God’s unfailing love by healing multitudes and showing compassion to outcasts.
By taking all our sin and punishment on the cross, then rising victoriously, Jesus exemplified God’s power and desire to draw us near. He intercedes for us always as our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). When we meditate on His proven track record of love and faithfulness, our trust in God’s control grows exceedingly. We can fully rely on His steadfast character amidst life’s uncertainties.
God Has Prepared an Eternal Inheritance
As believers in Jesus Christ, we can trust God’s control knowing He has prepared an incomparable eternal inheritance for us (1 Peter 1:3-5). Our struggles on earth are producing an eternal glory far beyond comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Revelation 21:4 promises in eternity with Christ, He will wipe every tear from our eyes. All sorrow, crying and pain will cease forever. We will inhabit the heavenly city where God Himself dwells in perfect intimacy with His people (Revelation 21:1-7).
Until that day arrives, our trials are momentary light afflictions compared to the coming glory (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Clinging tightly to the living hope of our future reward enables us to trust God’s purposes in our temporary struggles (Hebrews 10:34). We can have full confidence that “if we endure, we will also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:12). Keeping an eternal perspective anchors our souls when life feels out of control presently.
Prayerfully Reflecting on God’s Word and Works
A vital way to grow in trusting God’s control is spending regular time in His presence reflecting on His Word and works. The Psalms are filled with prayers and reflections on God’s sovereignty that strengthen our faith in His power and care. As we meditate on verses about God’s dominion and loving kindness, our trust in Him expands. The Holy Spirit illuminates particular passages we need to carry us through seasons of hardship or uncertainty.
Additionally, looking back on God’s steadfast hand guiding our lives develops our trust in Him. Keeping a journal where we record His faithfulness through various circumstances equips us to lean on Him in the future. Remembering specific prayers He has answered and provisions made strengthens our resolve to keep trusting when times get tough. Purposeful prayer and reflection on God’s proven trustworthiness cultivates steadfast trust in His control.
Trusting God’s Timing
Since God sees perfectly past, present and future, a key aspect of trusting His control involves trusting His timing. He knows precisely when the right season unfolds for every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Often God waits to reveal His purposes until we develop patience, maturity and reliance on Him. Yet His timing is always exactly right.
Abraham and Sarah had to wait twenty-five years for God’s promise of a son to be fulfilled, but Isaac was born at precisely the right time (Genesis 18:10, 21:2). Though Lazarus died, Jesus waited two days longer to visit Him, then raised Him from the dead to display God’s great glory (John 11:1-45). God’s perfect timing unfolded in Christ’s first and second comings. Through every long season of waiting, we can trust God’s timing and rest in His purposes being accomplished.
Experiencing God’s Peace
As we learn to trust God’s sovereignty and care, Scripture promises we will experience profound peace and strength. Isaiah 26:3 says God will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are fixed on Him, because they trust in Him. His peace surpasses understanding and guards our hearts when challenges abound (Philippians 4:6-7). The Lord gives strength when we feel weak or afraid by fully relying on His Spirit (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). His joy becomes our strength in every circumstance through the assurance of His control (Nehemiah 8:10).
Psalm 112:7-8 promises the righteous person will not fear bad news because his heart is steadfast, trusting the Lord. He can view adversaries with confidence, knowing God is in control. The more we choose to trust God daily, the more steadfast His peace in our lives. Our faith muscles develop each time we lean into His provisions instead of succumbing to worry. Gradually, trust in His control becomes our spiritual reflex rather than a struggle.
Growing Through Tests
Finally, tests of our trust serve an important purpose in strengthening it. James 1:2-4 explains the trials of various kinds we face have a refining effect to develop perseverance and maturity in our faith. Each test presents an opportunity to trust God more completely. As we turn to Him in dependence and see His faithfulness, our trust grows stronger. Over time, we gradually become “full-grown in the Lord” as we learn to rely on Him (Ephesians 4:13-15).
The trials that feel overwhelming at first build our spiritual stamina and confidence in God’s control over time. We remember His proven track record of sustaining us before. We gain wisdom on specific ways He provides strength, guidance and comfort when we lean on Him. Our faith is refined, not damaged, through the fire of adversity we face in this life. We can count it all joy when trials come, because God uses them to produce greater trust in His magnificent power and loving care.