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Trust is the Bible's plainest word for faith. The Old Testament uses several Hebrew words for it, one of which pictures lying face down in safety, another taking refuge, another leaning your weight on something. None of them is about believing a doctrine; all of them are about relying on a person. When the Bible says "trust in the LORD," it means: put your weight on him and see if he holds.
This guide gathers 25 passages under five headings: the command to trust, trust in the Psalms, trust versus the alternatives, trust in uncertainty, and trust in the New Testament. Quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible; every reference links to the chapter.
The command to trust
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
This is the verse most people mean when they talk about trusting God, and the King James wording is the one they know: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5–6, KJV). The picture is of a person leaning on a staff; the question is which one holds your weight. Our full guide to Proverbs 3:5–6 works through each phrase.
Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
The verse before it gives the result: "You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah 26:3), or in the King James, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee" (Isaiah 26:3, KJV).
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge.
Trust and honesty go together here. Pouring out your heart, including the fear and the complaint, is part of trusting, not the opposite of it.
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.
Notice that trust here has a verb attached: "and do good." Trusting God is not sitting still.
Trust in the Psalms
When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
Eight words, and the whole doctrine: fear is the occasion for trust, not its absence. See what the Bible says about fear.
Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
Trust grows from knowing. The better you know his name, his character, the easier the leaning becomes.
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song.
But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in Your hands.
"My times are in Your hands" is one of the most quoted lines in the Psalter and one of the most restful. It was written by a man surrounded by enemies.
In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.
This comes from the psalm that begins "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" Even there, the psalmist reaches for the record of trust kept.
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.
Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.
Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.
Trust versus the alternatives
The Bible rarely talks about trusting God without naming what people trust instead.
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Chariots and horses were the military technology of the age. The King James reads "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God" (Psalm 20:7, KJV).
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. … But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit."
Jeremiah's two plants are the Bible's best picture of the difference. Both live in a dry land; both face heat and drought. The difference is where the roots go. The King James version of verse 7, "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is" (Jeremiah 17:7, KJV), is often quoted alone.
He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.
The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.
Paul adds wealth to the list: instruct the rich "not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17).
Trust when you cannot see the outcome
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.
For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: "By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence, but you were not willing."
Judah was negotiating alliances with Egypt instead of trusting God, and Isaiah's verdict is that the strength they wanted was available in quiet confidence, and they refused it.
The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him.
Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.
Paul is describing a crisis so severe that he expected to die, and he says its purpose was to move his trust off himself. Sometimes that is what a crisis is for.
The clearest example of trust without a guaranteed outcome is the three men before the furnace: "If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods" (Daniel 3:17–18). "But even if He does not" is trust in its purest form.
Trust in the New Testament
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Jesus' teaching on worry is teaching on trust; the cure for one is the other. "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). See also what the Bible says about anxiety.
But Jesus overheard their conversation and said to Jairus, "Do not be afraid; just believe."
Jairus had just been told his daughter was dead. "Just believe" was said into the worst news a father can hear.
Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
It is just as the Scripture says: "Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame."
Hebrews defines the whole matter: "Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).
FAQ
What is the best Bible verse about trusting God?
Proverbs 3:5–6, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding," is the most memorized. Psalm 56:3, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in You," is the shortest, and Jeremiah 17:7–8, the tree planted by the water, is the fullest picture.
What does it mean to trust God?
To rely on him rather than on yourself, other people, money, or power (Psalm 20:7, Psalm 118:8, Jeremiah 17:5). The Hebrew words for trust picture leaning your weight on something or taking refuge in it. Trusting God includes acting, "trust in the LORD and do good" (Psalm 37:3), and pouring out your heart to him honestly (Psalm 62:8).
How do I trust God when I am afraid?
Psalm 56:3 gives the pattern: fear is the moment for trust, not a disqualification from it. Practically, the Bible says to remember God's record (Psalm 22:4), know his name and character (Psalm 9:10), and tell him the fear (Psalm 62:8). See our guide to what the Bible says about fear.
Does trusting God mean everything will work out?
The Bible promises that God works all things together for good for those who love him (Romans 8:28) and that those who trust him will not be put to shame (Romans 10:11). It does not promise that every outcome will be the one you wanted; Daniel's friends trusted God "even if He does not" deliver them (Daniel 3:18).
What is the difference between faith and trust?
In the Bible they are the same word seen from two sides. "Faith" is the New Testament's usual term, "trust" the Old Testament's, and both mean relying on God and acting on his word. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as assurance and certainty about what is hoped for; the psalms show trust as leaning, resting, and taking refuge.
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