You Can Trust God

YOU can trust God and his Word, the Bible, absolutely. After a lifetime of trusting God, one man, past 100 years of age, gave this reason for his confidence: “Look!” he said, “I am going today in the way of all the earth, and you well know with all your hearts and with all your souls that not one word out of all the good words that Jehovah your God has spoken to you has failed. They have all come true for you. Not one word of them has failed.”—Joshua 23:14.

This man, Joshua, a leader of ancient Israel, experienced the total reliability of God and his Word. Everything God promised Israel came true. If you get to know more about the Creator and his Word, you can develop that same trust. A later worshiper of God, King David, expressed it this way: “Those knowing your name will trust in you, for you will certainly not leave those looking for you, O Jehovah.”—Psalm 9:10.

God Will Never Let You Down

The more you get to ‘know God’s name’ and what that name implies—his purposes, activities, and qualities—the more you will trust him. He is a dependable Friend who will never let you down or break his word. And do not be put off by the hypocrisy of those who claim to be his representatives and who then deal treacherously with others. People like that are identified by the Bible as untrustworthy. Religious hypocrites say one thing but do the opposite. As the apostle Peter warned, they exploit their flocks. Peter wrote: “On account of these the way of the truth will be spoken of abusively. Also, with covetousness they will exploit you with counterfeit words.”—2 Peter 2:2, 3.

Such people do not represent God. They dishonor his Word. Why not examine for yourself God’s own record and testimony as revealed in the Bible? ‘But,’ you might ask, ‘why should I trust the Bible any more than any other book?’ It is true that there have been countless religious frauds throughout history, but the Bible is different. Consider the following reasons for trusting the Bible.

Reasons for Trusting the Bible

You can trust the Bible because its promises and prophecies always come true. Here is just one example. Unbelievable though it might have seemed to captive Israel, Jehovah God, the author of the Bible, had promised that he would liberate them from captivity to mighty Babylon and restore them to Jerusalem. It seemed an unlikely hope because Babylon was the dominant world power of the day and had totally devastated Jerusalem. But about two hundred years in advance, Jehovah had even named the Persian ruler Cyrus as the one who would overthrow Babylon and free His people and predicted how the river defenses of Babylon would fail. You can read the account at Isaiah 44:24–45:4.

The book Reasoning From the Scriptures explains how the promise was fulfilled: “Cyrus had not been born when the prophecy was written. . . . In detail the prophecy was fulfilled starting in 539 B.C.E. Cyrus diverted the waters of the Euphrates River into an artificial lake, the river gates of Babylon were carelessly left open during feasting in the city, and Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians under Cyrus. Thereafter, Cyrus liberated the Jewish exiles and sent them back to Jerusalem with instructions to rebuild Jehovah’s temple there.”a Every promise like this made by God, every prophecy contained in the Bible, has unerringly come true.

Another example of fulfilled prophecy is the very fact that trust has diminished in our century. The Bible foretold this as a characteristic of the time we live in, for it calls the era that began with World War I in 1914 “the last days” and says they would bring “critical times hard to deal with.” It made known that in our day people would be “lovers of themselves, . . . self-assuming, haughty, . . . unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, . . . betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride.” And it also predicted: “Wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse.” (2 Timothy 3:1-4, 13) That is just what we have seen in our time.

You can trust the Bible because it is totally authentic. No one has ever successfully challenged the Bible’s authenticity. Renowned scientist Sir Isaac Newton said: “I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatsoever.” No forgery like the Hitler “diaries” here! And how does the Bible compare with other ancient writings? The Bible From the Beginning says: “In the number of ancient MSS. [manuscripts] attesting a writing, and in the number of years that had elapsed between the original and the attesting MSS., the Bible enjoys a decided advantage over classical writings [those of Homer, Plato, and others]. . . . Altogether classical MSS. are but a handful compared with Biblical. No ancient book is so well attested as the Bible.” Everything about the Bible points to its being completely genuine.

You can trust the Bible because it is totally accurate in all its statements. The Bible says that God “is stretching out the north over the empty place, hanging the earth upon nothing.” (Job 26:7) Rather than repeat the fanciful theories of the day, such as the earth being supported by elephants, the Bible stated what has since been established as scientific truth—that the earth is “hanging” in space. In addition to that, over two thousand years before the time of Columbus, the Bible clearly stated that the earth is round.—Isaiah 40:22.

You can trust the Bible because of its honesty and candor. The Bible writers falsified nothing. Even when what they said reflected badly on themselves, their compatriots, and their rulers, they honestly reported the facts. In his gospel the apostle Matthew, for example, openly admitted that Jesus Christ’s apostles at times showed a lack of faith, fought among themselves for prominence, and even abandoned Jesus when he was arrested.—Matthew 17:18-20; 20:20-28; 26:56.

Another outstanding reason for trusting the Bible is that the Bible’s advice has always proved practical and beneficial whenever people trusted it enough to apply it. (Proverbs 2:1-9) The Bible’s advice contrasts dramatically with the often fickle advice of “experts” on coping with problems of life. Regarding columnists who offer such advice in many national newspapers, The Sunday Times of London asks: “Are thousands of people every year baring their souls to gifted amateurs who are really just making it up as they go along?” The Bible writers were not just making it up as they went along. They recorded trustworthy, God-inspired advice that has stood the test of time.—2 Timothy 3:16, 17.

“The Bible’s advice protected me from a direction that could have ruined my life,” says Ellen, now in her 30’s and happily married. “My parents, who were divorced, showed little faith in the marriage arrangement, and they actually encouraged me just to live with someone rather than marry him. When I think of the stability that following Bible principles has given to my life, I am glad that I trusted the Bible even above the advice of my own parents.”—See Ephesians 5:22-31; Hebrews 13:4.

“I was only 14 when I began to learn what the Bible said about things,” says Florence. “Now when I think back to the 1960’s and the trouble that my peers caused themselves by following the values and morals of the day, I am so grateful for the protection that the Bible’s advice afforded me as a young, inexperienced woman.”—See 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

“In my case,” says James, “I was caught up in the gambling, smoking, and drinking scene.” He goes on: “I know the damage this has caused to so many people and to their families. At first I could not see the relevance of the Bible to my problems. But I now see clearly how it influenced my thinking for good and helped me to maintain a much healthier life-style.”—See 2 Corinthians 7:1.

Mary Anne contemplated suicide because of the pressures of life and emotional difficulties stemming from a troubled background. “Suicide seemed the only way out at the time,” she says. “But the Bible adjusted my thinking. It was only because of what I read in the Bible that I didn’t commit suicide.”—See Philippians 4:4-8.

What was it that helped all these people? They developed a total trust in God and in his Word, the Bible. God became like a trusted, dear friend who whispered advice into their ears in times of difficulty. (Compare Isaiah 30:21.) They learned Bible principles that helped them to cope with life’s pressures and problems. And they learned to trust the wonderful promises from the God who cannot lie—such as the promise of a beautiful “new earth” free from all deceit, lies, and exploitation and free from sorrow, sickness, and even death!—2 Peter 3:13; Psalm 37:11, 29; Revelation 21:4, 5.

You can develop that same trust. The world today may betray your trust, but you can be assured that your trust in God and in his Word will never be breached. The publishers of this magazine will be glad to arrange for someone to help you get to know God and his Word, the Bible, better.

[Footnote]

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Some 200 years in advance, God’s prophet predicted how Babylon would be overthrown

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Sir Isaac Newton found the Bible to be trustworthy