In God We Trust

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE

In what or whom do you truly place your trust?
Do you put your trust in God, yourself, or your business?
What does it mean to trust in God?

In God We Trust

The phrase “In God we trust” has been appearing on US currency since 1864 after many devout Christian Americans appealed to the US Secretary of Treasury to put an inscription on the US currency to reflect the fact that the United States of America is not a heathen nation but a country that recognizes Almighty God and trusts in Him. According to the US Treasury website, treasury.gov, the idea was that if the nation should ever be destroyed, future generations would know by the inscriptions on our currency that we are a God-honoring country. As this was the case with many of our founding documents, congress agreed and the phrase later became recognized as the nation’s motto.

What does “In God We Trust” mean? Are we still trusting in God today?  

In Psalm 20:7, King David said; “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” The context was the defeat of Israel’s enemies, through reliance upon and trust in the Almighty. David was a brilliant military strategist and a great warrior. He won many battles and through his conquest established Israel as a great nation during his reign. But everything he did was based upon his total reliance upon the LORD. 

Chariots and horses were sophisticated military equipment, and all the great nations and armies of King David’s time had them. They were the equivalent of today’s fighter jets, submarines, or military tanks. He understood the essential role that they played if an army were to achieve superiority over their enemy. Despite his understanding of military strategy, the use of sophisticated war equipment, and the importance of projecting strength, as a worshiper he also understood that his victories did not come from his strategies, the chariots, or horses but from the living God. 

His exhortation that Israel should trust in the name of the living God above horses and chariots was a reminder to himself and the nation that no matter how great our strategy or how sophisticated our weapons are, our victory comes from God Almighty. He was declaring that his nation would choose to trust in God and not in its weapons. No wonder God called him a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

Similarly, the phrase “in God we trust” on the US currency must not just serve as a historical reminder to future generations that America is not a heathen nation. It should also genuinely reflect where our trust lies today.

Do we put our trust in our military, in our sophisticated weapons, our economy, our congress, or our President? Or is our trust in God? 

Who is your trust in, and how do you know where your trust lies?  

If you trust in God, you will:

• Demonstrate “Godfidence” (confidence that God will do what He said He would do)
• Act with integrity (the means or methods – ”how” something is done is more important than the result)
• Employ biblical means and strategies
• Acknowledge God in everything you do  
• Exemplify the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit
• Understand that your highest purpose is to realize God’s purpose
• Give God thanks for your success
• Accept God’s will in every situation

If you trust in yourself, you will: 

• Exhibit self-confidence to the point of pride
• Rely on random chance 
• Exemplify the works of the flesh rather than of the Spirit               
• Employ human means and strategies (the desired end result justifying any approach to achieve it)
• Desire to achieve personal greatness
• Take personal credit for your successes
• Resist God’s will   

Where are you putting your trust in your family or your business? 
Where does your nation put its trust?  

My prayer for you today is that God will show you where to put your trust – not in your bank account,
your family, your business, your pedigree, or your nation  – but wholly in Him, and that He will give you the faith to do it.