We Don’t Like Not Knowing the Outcome
Trusting is scary. Wouldn’t be nice if we knew everything that was going to happen ahead of time? The initial answer is yes. But would it really?
There are a lot of things that have happened in my life that I initially would have preferred to avoid. (For example, the scaffold plank breaking and the severe concussion that followed.) After giving it more thought, I can see that I’m a better person now than I was then. The ripple effect of that accident continues to have positive impacts.
Another example is the signers of the Declaration of Independence. They knew there was a risk, but if they had been able to look into the future and see the cost would they still have signed?
History gives us another example, when Samuel came to David and anointed him to be king, that probably sounded like it would come with some pretty amazing perks. But David didn’t know everything that was going to happen. He didn’t know Saul would try to kill him by throwing spears at him or send him into dangerous battles with evil intentions. But David trusted God!
Ultimately, it’s better to follow God and trust Him than to know the future.
Saul, on the other hand, quit trusting God and tried to take care of everything on his own. This desire to control everything is what led to God replacing him with David. We see in 1 Samuel 18:5-16 how Saul became envious of David.
Think back to when we began this series on David and he was preparing to fight Goliath. Saul tried to put his armor on him, but as a young man, it didn’t fit. David knew that wasn’t who he was. (1 Samuel 17:38-39)
Then he went to a brook, selected five smooth stones, and with his sling in hand, went to face Goliath. Trusting God doesn’t mean we do nothing. David went and got the stones, and then he went and faced a giant.
Now that is trusting God!
Our trust needs to be the same. We need to listen to God and do what He tells us, knowing that He is with us in this battle.
In the children’s message, Jamie shared that David was scared, but he trusted God. He didn’t need armor—just the five stones.
She said these stones represent:
- Courage – trusting that God is with us.
- Confidence – remembering that God will help us overcome problems.
- Preparation – doing our best and learning from our past.
- Faith – believing God is bigger than any problem.
- Action – stepping forward bravely, knowing God has our backs.
David trusting God didn’t mean he never made mistakes or asked the wrong people for help. But ultimately, he put his trust in God. When he was hiding in a cave from Saul, David wrote Psalm 57. This Psalm is a good example of how we should trust God.
We’re not going to know everything that’s going to happen, and that’s okay because God’s got it.
Trust Him!
