As a Christian, it’s important that you trust God and his plan for your life. Fortunately, there are many Bible stories that can inspire you to do so, even during hard times. We are going to share some of them with you in today’s post.
Bible stories about trusting God’s timing
One of the greatest signs that you trust God is that you trust his timing. If you’re struggling with this, here are some stories to help you out:
The story of Abraham, his wife Sarah, and their son Isaac (Genesis chapter 15-21)
In the book of Genesis, God promises Abraham that he will give him a son through his wife Sarah despite their old age. While it was hard for Abraham to believe in this, he kept his faith. After many years, God’s promise finally came to pass and Sarah gave birth to her son called Isaac.
Beyond that, God made Abraham’s descendants as many as the stars and blessed them abundantly. They even became known as God’s people.
Life application: There are many lessons to be learned from the type of faith Abraham had. However, the most important lesson in this story is undoubtedly the importance of trusting the promises of God even when things get frustrating. After all, it’s not in God’s character to lie – he is not a man (Number 23:19).
The story of Elizabeth and Zechariah (Luke 1:5-25)
Zechariah and Elizabeth were another bible couple that longed for a child for many years. They had trusted in God for a long time and continued to serve him diligently. Zechariah was even a priest.
One day when he was doing his priestly duties in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that his wife would have a baby boy soon. Since Zechariah doubted the good news because both he and his wife were past child-bearing age, the angel made him mute.
Interestingly, by the time Zechariah went home to his wife after the ordeal, she was already pregnant. Months later, she gave birth to a child called John and Zechariah started to speak again. John went on to baptize Jesus Christ in the Jordan river and pave way for his ministry.
Life application: The first thing that this story teaches us it’s that it’s natural for our trust in God to falter sometimes. This is especially common when we’ve been waiting for something to happen for a long time. However, this doesn’t stop God’s promise from coming to pass.
After all, God is always faithful even when we are not. However, there can be consequences for our disbelief.
Stories about trusting God in difficult times
If you’re going through hard times right now, here are some bible stories that can help you keep your faith:
The story of Job (Job chapters 1 and 2)
Job was such a godly man that God used to boast about him, so much so that Satan wanted to test his faith. So with the permission of God, he took away Job’s health, wealth, and children.
Ultimately Job was in so much pain and suffering that three of his friends came and sat with him in silence for seven days and seven nights.
Even Job’s wife advised him to just curse God and die. But even in the most difficult times, Job didn’t get angry at God or curse him. Instead, he continued to have absolute trust in God and looked to him. He even rebuked his wife saying that we can’t only trust God during good times.
Ultimately, God restored Job’s family, health, and wealth, leaving him with more than he had before.
Life application: Job’s story teaches us that we shouldn’t just trust God when he’s doing great things in our lives – we should trust him when bad things happen too. This is because he loves us either way and is always working to use everything for our good. Remember, we are his even in death (Romans 14:8).
The story of Daniel and the lion’s den (Daniel chapter 6)
This story takes place in the Babylonian empire. It starts with the King of the empire, Darius, publishing a decree stating that no citizen would be allowed to worship anyone or anything other than him for 30 days.
However, Daniel’s prayers to his heavenly father continued, getting him into trouble with the government. As such, he was arrested and thrown into a lion’s den. But instead of being shredded into pieces, Daniel made it to the next day unharmed.
This is because God sent an angel to protect him by shutting the mouths of the lions.
When King Darius found this out, he was stunned by the power of God and immediately got Daniel out of the lion’s den. He even decreed that everyone in the realm should worship the God of Daniel.
Life application: When you trust God, you shouldn’t let anyone intimidate you from worshiping him. Instead, be proud of your faith and believe that God will protect you if others persecute you for it.
The story of David and the giant Goliath (1 Samuel chapter 17)
This is a great story of faith. It talks about a young David who was sent by his father Jesse to take food to his brothers. His brothers were fighting in a war between the people of Israel and the Philistines.
When David got to the battle camp, he saw the giant Goliath and volunteered to kill him, even though other soldiers were scared of him. When King Saul heard this, he let David go ahead after trying to talk him out of it for a while.
Ultimately, David managed to kill the giant Goliath using only a stone and sling.
Life application: The story of David and the giant Goliath teaches us that trusting God allows us to do things that others don’t think we can. So no matter how big the task before you is, never give up. Remember, there is nothing you can’t do if God is for you (Romans 8:31).
The story of the Israelites leaving Egypt (Exodus chapters 5-12)
When the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt, God sent Moses, a Jew raised by the pharaoh’s daughter, to save them and take them to their promised land. While Moses originally didn’t want to do this, he decided to trust God’s plan and submit to it.
As such, he diligently relayed God’s word to the pharaoh and gave him several chances to let the great nation of Israel go. But since God had hardened the pharaoh’s heart, it took several plagues including the death of Egypt’s first-born sons for him to let them go.
And even then, he still sent his armies to chase them down up to the red sea. But God allowed Moses to part the red sea to save the Israelites – all the Egyptians who tried to follow them died.
Life application: For you to be a great leader, you need to trust God, especially in difficult circumstances. This is the best way to ensure that you keep them safe. After all, the bible warns us again and again about the dangers of leaning on our own understanding.
Biblical examples of not trusting God
The story of Lot’s wife (Genesis chapter 19)
When God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, he had mercy on Abraham’s nephew Lot and decided to save him. He sent angels to his house who helped him and his family get out before the cities were destroyed. But there’s one thing the angels made them promise to do – not to look back.
Unfortunately, Lot’s wife went against this advice and looked back. Immediately, she turned into a pillar of salt and her family had to leave her where she stood.
Life application: One of the greatest signs that you trust God is that you obey his commands, even when they inconvenience you. Doing this will not only protect you but also help you prosper. After all, God always has the best plans for his children.
The story of Jonah and the fish (Jonah 1)
When God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach to the people there about their wicked ways, he ran away instead and got on a ship to Tarshish. But after the journey began, God sent a storm that threatened to break the ship. In a panic, the people who saw what was happening went below deck to tell the sleeping Jonah to wake up and pray for the fate of the ship.
Once he got up, he went above deck and found the other passengers casting lots to figure out who was responsible for the storm. At that moment, he admitted that he was a servant of God and had caused the storm by running away from him.
He even went as far as asking them to throw them into the sea to save themselves. In a bid to avoid this, they tried to sail back to shore. But this didn’t work – it made the storm worse instead.
Ultimately, they decided to throw Jonah overboard and he was eaten by a big fish – he stayed in its belly for 3 days and 3 nights
Life application: One of the major things that Jonah’s story teaches us is that disobeying God has its consequences. So even when we doubt God’s plans for us, it’s always best to obey him and not lean on our own understanding.
As the holy bible says, just because you think you’re right doesn’t mean you are – God’s ways are always better than yours, even when you don’t understand them.
Children’s Bible stories about trusting God
The story of the Israelites and the walls of Jericho (Joshua chapter 6)
This story begins with God telling Joshua that he was giving Jericho to the people of Israel. But even as he was making this promise to them, the walls of Jericho were high and the gates remained shut. Nobody went in or out of them.
Fortunately, he gave the Israelites some instructions that would ensure that they would be successful. He told them to have all the men in the army go around the walls of Jericho once a day for 6 days and then do it seven times on the seventh day.
Beyond that, he asked them to include 7 religious leaders in the lineup and have them blow horns. God even instructed all the people to make a loud noise after they heard the horns on the last day after the seventh trip around the walls.
Once they did this, God promised that the walls of Jericho would fall and they would be able to go inside the city. And true to God’s word, this is exactly what happened when the people of Israel followed his instructions.
Life application: Sometimes God will ask us to do things that don’t make sense to us so that we can achieve certain goals. During such times, trust and obedience are integral. This is particularly important when we feel doubt creep in.
Ultimately, God wants us to always have faith in his promises and even behave as if they have already come to pass. That’s why he even wanted the Israelites to scream out after the last trip around the walls of Jericho – this was meant to indicate victory.
So even when you’re struggling with something, trust that God will finish the good work that He has begun in you.
The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel chapter 3)
This story starts with King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon coming up with a decree that everyone in the realm should worship a golden object every time they hear harps, horns, and music. While most people followed this decree, 3 Jewish leaders called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t.
When the king heard of this, he was enraged. As a result, he called for them and asked them whether it was true that they refused to worship his golden idol. He even went as far as threatening to throw them into the fire if they continued to do so.
However, the three men insisted that they would never worship the king’s idols. Instead, they reiterated that they would continue to worship the God of the armies of Israel to the very end. As such, they were tied up and thrown into the fire.
But in an interesting turn of events, a fourth man appeared in the flames with them – the son of God. More importantly, none of them got burnt even though the fire was so hot that it killed the men who had thrown them in it.
When Nebuchadnezzar saw this, he called them out of the fire and admitted that the God of Israel is the one true God.
Life application: If there’s one thing that this story teaches us, it’s that God’s hand is never far from his people. So as long as you trust him and remain faithful, he will always come through for you. And eventually, your life will be a testament to God’s glory and pull others to him.
Bible stories about faithfulness
The story of the bleeding woman (Mark 5:25-34)
This story starts after Christ Jesus heals Jarius’ daughter and is walking with a group of people that are all pushing against him. In the crowd, there was a woman who had been bleeding continuously for twelve years.
Even though she had used all her money to see doctors, her condition was getting worse. So when she heard about Jesus Christ, she decided that she would follow him behind and then touch his cloak.
Even though she had never met him before, she trusted that he was the son of God and believed that he could heal her with a single touch. It’s therefore not surprising that this is exactly what happened when this tenacious woman went ahead with her plan.
She was so effective that Christ Jesus was surprised by power leaving his body and promptly asked who touched him. Once she identified herself, he told her that her faith had healed and sent her away with the peace of God.
Life application: If there’s one thing that this story teaches us, it’s that we can access the power of God by trusting him and acting in faith. Even the smallest act of faith can earn us healing or set in motion the blessings of God in our lives.
So no matter what you are going through in life, don’t give up and keep your faith – God will surely be faithful to you as well.
The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife (Genesis chapter 39)
This story takes place immediately after Joseph’s brothers sell him to the Ishmaelites. His buyers take him to Egypt and sell him to Potiphar – one of the pharaoh’s officials. Over time, Joseph gained Potiphar’s favor and was placed in charge of his household.
And since God was always with him, the household prospered. However, Joseph was soon faced with an unexpected challenge – his master’s wife was attracted to him and asked him to sleep with her. When Joseph refused, she accused him of rape.
This made Potiphar so mad that he put Joseph in prison. But even there Joseph continued to trust God and be blessed. He even found favor with the prison warden and ended up being in charge of all who were held in the prison and all that happened there.
Life application: Joseph’s story is a testament to the importance of trusting God and remaining faithful to him throughout the ups and downs of life. When we aim to do this, we always do the right thing, even when it’s inconvenient. This is because we know that God will take care of us no matter what happens.
Final thoughts
No matter how long you have been a Christian, it’s important to trust God in all your ways. This will not only protect you but also ensure you live with the peace of God for the rest of your life. So if you feel like doubt is creeping in, we hope that the bible stories we’ve discussed in this post will help you out.
