What is the Difference Between Trusting and Believing?

For the past few weeks I have been contemplating the difference between trusting and believing. Until recently I have just assumed that they generally mean the same thing.

trust·ing/ˈtrəstiNG/

Adjective: Showing or tending to have a belief in a person's honesty or sincerity; not suspicious.

I have a problem trusting people. I am sure that most people have this issue to some degree so I will not bore you with my sob stories but I will say that there is one person, and one person only, that I trust completely. Obviously (or maybe not so much), I trust God. The more I learn about Him the more I fall for Him. The more I know about his character the more I trust, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He is perfect. What a dreamboat. He is honest, sincere, and although I sometimes find him harsh I do not suspect him of leading me astray. I can honestly say that I trust Him with my life.

If you know me at all you will understand when I say, how could I not?

If he tells me to jump I will jump- headfirst.

believingpresent participle of be·lieve (Verb)

1. Accept (something) as true; feel sure of the truth of: "the superintendent believedLancaster's story".

2. Accept the statement of (someone) as true.

3. Feel sure that (someone) is capable of a particular action

I consider myself a pretty optimistic person. Some of it may have to do with my less dominant sanguine personality and some may be thanks to my deep desire to see the intrinsic good in things but either way it is a characteristic that has me believing in people and situations to an extent that I often find myself willing good things to happen. After all, if you believe you can achieve... right?

When I looked up the definition to ‘believing’ number three particularly intrigued me: to feel sure that (someone) is capable of a particular action. Hhhmmm...

A few weeks ago I was having a chat with the big man upstairs and he spoke to me. He gave me the answer to a question that I've been asking for a long time. Do you know what I said in response? Get ready for this one. I said, "Yea right, that will never happen [to me]."

So the question as of late is this: How can I trust in a God that can part seas, raise people from the dead, cure the incurable, feed 5,000 people with a couple little fish, and speak a universe into existence but not believe that he will be the father my child needs, put food on my table, and fulfill his promise to walk with me until the day I see him face to face.

I am the issue (duh). What do I have against myself?

If I am not willing to believe in the God that I trust then my heart will never really be ready to accept all that he has for me.

In short, I'm like a dog chasing its own tail. Now isn't that a lovely image?

Thankfully, I serve a God that wants all of me so as I ask these questions he creatively gives me answers and continues to gently reveal new and beautiful things to me. With a grateful heart I am being stretched and challenged.

What do you think about trusting and believing?