The Reason You Can Trust God (Even When It Seems Risky)

Main ideas and lessons

• God’s character is described as faithful and trustworthy

  • The Bible characterizes God as: “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, overflowing with loyal love and faithfulness.”
  • The focus here is the Hebrew word emet, which can mean faithfulness or truth.

• Meaning of “emet” (faithfulness/truth)

  • Emet is tied to stability and reliability, not only to verbal accuracy.
  • Example imagery:
    • When Moses holds up his hands for hours, friends support him so his hands remain stable/steady (“emet”).
  • When applied to people, emet describes dependable character—trustworthiness.

• “Emet” in people and leadership

  • Leaders in Israel are described as needing to be people of emet:
    • trustworthy
    • unwilling to take bribes
    • unwilling to distort justice
  • Moses also calls God a “rock,” emphasizing God’s consistency:
    • faithful, just, upright
    • someone you can trust because of character stability

• “Trust” is linked directly to “emet”

  • The Hebrew verb for “trust” is he’emin, meaning to consider someone trustworthy / to have faith.
  • The Bible repeatedly shows key people he’emin-ing (trusting) God.

Biblical progression (who trusted God and when)

• Abraham

  • God promises Abraham and Sarah:
    • they will have a large family
    • through them all nations will be blessed
  • Despite impossible circumstances (they’re very old), Abraham trusts God (“he’emins God”).
  • Result: God’s faithfulness unfolds over generations, leading to the nation of Israel.

• Israel

  • When God leads Israel out of slavery in Egypt, Israel trusts (“he’emins in God”).
  • Later, when Israel enters the promised land and faces giants and fortified cities, their trust in God’s emet fails.

• David

  • David is presented as the one who does trust God in the face of giants.
  • He confronts the giant with confidence in God’s name, not his own power:
    • “I come with the name of the God of Israel.”
  • The text says David “walked in emet” before God:
    • David’s faith response is consistent and faithful.

The promise and its fulfillment in Jesus

• God’s faithful promise through David

  • God promises to raise a faithful descendant of David.
  • The enduring kingdom carries the theme of emet (faithfulness/trust stability).

• Crisis: when the kingdom collapses

  • Later, Israel loses:
    • a home
    • a king
  • They question God:
    • “Where is your loyal love that you swore to David in your emet?”
  • This frames the central question: Is God trustworthy even when it looks like God broke promises?

• New Testament answer

  • The opening of the New Testament ties Jesus to the promises:
    • Jesus is described as son of David and son of Abraham.
  • Paul’s phrasing emphasizes that Jesus fulfills God’s faithfulness:
    • “Jesus came on behalf of God’s faithfulness.”
  • Conclusion: God’s promised faithfulness is embodied in Jesus as the faithful king, whose kingdom endures—inviting all nations to trust God.

Core takeaway: trusting God is “risky,” but justified

• Trust involves risk
  • It’s hard to know if anyone is truly full of emet.
• The biblical narrative presents God as consistently faithful
  • Therefore believers are invited to “take the risk” of trust:
    • join Abraham
    • join David
    • join God’s people
  • Trust God’s promises—especially as they are fulfilled in Jesus—even when obstacles and uncertainty make trust feel dangerous.

Methodology / instruction list (implied practice)

• Reflect on God’s character as reliable faithfulness (emet).
• Use Scripture’s examples to see how trust works in real obstacles:
  • Abraham trusted despite barrenness/impossibility
  • Israel initially trusted, then faltered under fear/giants
  • David trusted when confronting danger
• Anchor trust in God’s fulfillment of promises in Jesus.
• Choose to trust God despite current risk and uncertainty:
  • Treat God’s faithfulness as stable and dependable (“emet”)
  • Respond with faithful reliance (“he’emins”)

Speakers / sources featured

• [Carissa] (main speaker)
• Scripture references and quoted voices, including:
  • Moses (described actions and role)
  • Abraham and Sarah
  • Israel (collectively, as a “people of God”)
  • David (quoted and described)
  • Paul (quoted phrasing)
  • The New Testament / Jesus’ lineage (quoted: “This is the lineage of Jesus…”)