Trusting God
Trust Over Fear: Surrendering Every Area of Your Life to God
There is a quiet war being waged in the heart of every believer. It is not fought with weapons or words. It is fought between faith and fear. And the outcome of that war shapes everything — how we give, how we live, how we respond to crisis, and how we relate to the God who made us.
The passage in Matthew 6:1-4 is often read as a lesson about generosity and humility, a warning against performing acts of righteousness for public approval. And it is that. But beneath the surface, it carries a deeper current. It is a call to radical trust. When Jesus instructs his followers to give in secret, he is not merely correcting a bad habit. He is redirecting the heart toward a God who sees, who knows, and who rewards. In other words, he is calling his people to faith.
That is the thread worth pulling.
The Pharisees and the Problem of Fear Disguised as Religion
The Pharisees who sounded trumpets before their giving were not simply arrogant. They were afraid. Afraid that if no one saw their righteousness, it would not count. Afraid that God alone as their audience was not enough. So they sought the applause of men as a kind of insurance policy.
This is what fear does. It drives us to secure our own reward rather than trust God to provide it. It makes us self-reliant in the very moments we should be God-reliant. And Jesus says plainly that those who operate this way have already received everything they are going to get. The crowd's approval is the full extent of their reward. There is nothing waiting for them from the Father.
The contrast he draws is striking. The one who gives quietly, who does not demand recognition, who trusts that the Father sees what is done in secret — that person is banking on God. That is faith in its most practical form.
Elijah, a Widow, and a Jar That Never Ran Dry
The story in 1 Kings 17 puts flesh on this idea in a remarkable way. The prophet Elijah, operating in one of the darkest seasons in Israel's history, is sent by God to a Gentile widow on the edge of starvation. She has enough flour and oil for one final meal for herself and her son. After that, she expects to die.
Elijah arrives and asks her for water. Then he asks for bread. From a woman who has almost nothing, he asks for her last resources.
What follows is one of the most quietly extraordinary moments in all of Scripture. Elijah tells her not to be afraid. He promises her, on the word of the Lord, that her flour and oil will not run out until rain returns to the land. And she believes him. She acts on that word. She feeds him first.
And the jar does not run dry.
Notice that there are two people of faith in this story. Elijah trusts God enough to make an audacious request of a starving woman. The widow trusts God enough to comply. Both of them are operating in the same posture — eyes fixed not on what they can see, but on what God has promised.
This is exactly what Jesus is describing in Matthew 6. Give as though God is watching. Give as though God will provide. Give because you trust the one who sees in secret.
Peter, the Boat, and the Danger of Looking Down
The account of Peter walking on water in Matthew 14 offers another angle on the same truth. Peter is the only disciple who steps out of the boat. He is walking on water — doing something no human being had ever done — because his eyes are on Jesus. His faith is not theoretical. It is producing results.
Then he looks at the storm.
The moment his gaze shifts from Christ to circumstances, fear floods in and he begins to sink. Jesus reaches out and catches him, walking him safely back to the boat. There is no condemnation in that gesture. There is only rescue.
This is the pattern. Faith does not mean the storms disappear. It means keeping your eyes fixed on the one who is greater than the storm. When Christians struggle — and the struggles are real, whether financial, relational, physical, or spiritual — the issue is rarely the size of the problem. It is the direction of the gaze.
The One Invitation to Test God
Throughout Scripture, the instruction is consistent: do not test the Lord your God. The Israelites tested God repeatedly in the wilderness, and each time it was an act of doubt, a demand that God prove himself to people who refused to trust him.
But there is one extraordinary exception. In Malachi 3:10, God himself extends an invitation. He asks his people to bring the whole tithe, to give as he has commanded, and then — remarkably — he says to test him. He promises to open the windows of heaven and pour out blessing until it overflows. He promises to rebuke the devourer, to protect what his people have.
This is not the prosperity gospel. It is not a transaction where a financial gift guarantees a financial return. The blessing in verse 11 includes protection — crops that do not fail, vines that do not wither. The blessing may look like health, or a car that keeps running when it should not, or a need met in a way you did not anticipate. God is not a vending machine. But he is a provider, and he invites his children to discover that firsthand.
The invitation is simple: trust me enough to obey, and watch what I do.
Surrender as the Starting Point
The call underneath all of this is total surrender. Not faith in a distant God who saves souls and then steps back, but faith in a present God who is actively involved in every dimension of life. The question is not whether God is capable of providing and sustaining. The question is whether we trust him enough to stop holding back.
Walking by faith rather than by sight, as 2 Corinthians 5:7 describes, means acting on what God has said even when circumstances argue against it. It means giving when it feels risky. It means stepping out of the boat. It means handing over the last jar of oil.
And it means discovering, perhaps for the first time, just how good God really is.
The sermon describes fear as the absence of faith, using Peter walking on water as an illustration -- in what areas of your life do you find yourself taking your eyes off Christ and sinking into fear, and what practical steps can you take to refocus your gaze?
Elijah boldly delivered an unpopular message to a powerful and dangerous king, trusting God completely with the outcome -- when has God called you to take a bold stand for truth, and what held you back or propelled you forward?
The widow in 1 Kings 17 gave her last resources in obedience to God's word even when facing starvation -- how does her example challenge the way you think about generosity and trust during seasons of personal scarcity?
The sermon argues that much of the moral decline in society is the fault of the church failing to be salt and light rather than the fault of outside cultural movements -- do you agree or disagree with this assessment, and what does it mean for how you live out your faith publicly?
Malachi 3:10 is described as the only place in Scripture where God invites his people to test him, specifically in the area of giving -- what does it reveal about the nature of faith that God frames obedient generosity as an opportunity to experience his goodness firsthand?
The sermon emphasizes that God's blessing in response to faithful giving is not always financial, using the example of a well-preserved vehicle, but may come as protection from loss or hardship -- how does this broader understanding of blessing change the way you evaluate whether God is providing for you?
The preacher states that sanctification is the ongoing process of less of self and more of Christ, modeled after Jesus's prayer in the garden -- what does surrendering your will to God's will look like in a specific and concrete area of your life right now?
The sermon points out that Abraham spoke Akkadian and preceded the Hebrew language, suggesting that God has always been at work among all peoples beyond the boundaries we often assume -- how does this understanding of God's universal reach shape the way you think about who is included in his redemptive purposes?
The preacher warns against a gospel that promises a better, more comfortable life and instead presents the gospel as rescue from sin and judgment through Christ alone -- how does the difference between a comfort-centered gospel and a cross-centered gospel affect the way you share your faith with others?
The sermon describes many Christians as miserable because they are not fully obedient to Christ, with one foot in the world and one foot in the church -- what does wholehearted surrender to Christ look like in practice, and what is the cost of withholding any part of your life from him?