How to trust God in times of doubt, sorrow and testing

Life is full of ups and downs. Sometimes it is difficult to know how to trust God in times of doubt, sorrow and testing. In Genesis 18-23, the readings for week 2 in the Chosen: 30 Days with the Patriarchs Scripture Plan  we see lots of family drama – birth, death, family quarrels, and God testing Abraham. What can we learn from these accounts about trusting God in difficult times?

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Times of testing, doubt and sorrow in Genesis 18-23

In Week 2 of Chosen: 30 Days with the Patriarchs we covered Genesis 18-23.  There is a lot of emotion in these passages as the characters are tested, rejected, doubt their abilities and are eventually blessed and full of joy. We’ll look at each example individually, but from all of them we learn that being one of God’s ‘chosen people’ does not stop us from facing hard times.

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How to trust God completely

How to Trust God in times of doubt

In Genesis 18:9-15 God appears to Abraham and repeats his promise that Sarah will have a son.

Even though the visitors ask where she is, and they are talking about her, she remains at the tent door, listening.

She knows it is humanly impossible for her to have a child. So she laughs. She doubts her ability to fulfil God’s promise.

But God rebukes her for her doubt. There is no doubt on God’s part. His plans will come to fruition.

The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” Genesis 18: 13-14 emphasis added

It is easy to doubt our own abilities, especially when circumstances can back up our thinking, but we should not stay hidden from God’s plans for us. We may think the solution is impossible so give up or try to fix things our own way. But we must trust in God completely.

Although Sarah laughed at the thought of it, she must have been obedient in her actions, because as God had promised she had a baby son through the ‘normal means’.  Even when we doubt we can still have enough faith in God to act upon, or believe in, what he has promised.

The fulfilment of God’s promise leads Sarah to laugh again, but this time with joy,  and now she is no longer hiding, but happy to share her laughter with others.

And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” Genesis 21:6

From Sarah we learn that with God nothing is impossible, and we can rejoice with our loved ones.

How to Trust God in times of sorrow

But Sarah’s laughter does not bring joy to everyone. When she sees Ishmael laughing she tells Abraham to send Hagar and the boy away.

Hagar and Ishmael suffer rejection and loss of hope. They have been abandoned and thrown out. They are alone in the wilderness, have no protection and all their provisions have gone.

Hagar believed her son was going to die and cried out to God in tears. And God heard their cries and provided water for their immediate needs and a promise that Ishmael would be made into a great nation, giving them hope for the future.

From Hagar and Ishmael we learn that even when we feel alone and abandoned we can trust that God hears us and will meet all our needs, both now and in the future.

How to Trust God in times of testing

Now we come to the real moment of trust, when our faith in God is put to the test. How do we trust God completely when he seems to be asking the impossible of us?

When we read of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son in Genesis 22 we are shocked. Sacrifice is not part of our normal world today. But it was in Abraham’s time.  Abraham was about to learn that God was not the same as the ‘gods’ his neighbours worshipped. The one true God is not greedy to receive from us, but is our loving provider.

God’s command to sacrifice Isaac seems to contradict his promise that Isaac would be the father of a great nation. But Abraham has learned to trust God and he chooses to stand on the promises of God and obey him. He knows this will not be the end for Isaac. But he did not withhold his son from God. He had faith that God would provide. Unlike Abraham’s previous tests of faith, he doesn’t try and ‘fix’ things himself.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.James 2:21-24

Sometimes we may feel that we are being led in a direction that is contrary to where we believe God is ultimately leading us. So, do we put our faith in God alone or in the ‘plan’? We may be required to take a detour of testing.

From Abraham we learn our faith in God is often tested. We must wait on his timing, trusting in him even when things don’t make sense, and not push ahead in our own strength.  Do you trust God enough to not withhold the people and things you love from him? It is all very well to say that we trust, but we show our faith in our actions.

How to trust God in difficult times

Here’s a summary of what we have learned about how to trust God completely:

Times of Blessing

We’ve already seen that Sarah’s laughter of doubt turned to laughter of joy. And Hagar’s fear that her son would die turned to him having a legacy of protection and nations of decedents.

After Abraham’s testing, he also received a blessing.

And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” Genesis 22: 15-18

No matter what we are facing if we remain faithful and obedient to God he will provide for us and bless us. He will replace our doubts with joy, our sorrow with hope and our times of testing with times of blessings.

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Are you trusting God completely in your difficult times?