Trusting God Beyond the Checklist

For much of my faith journey, I approached God with a checklist. I made sure to read my Bible every day, pray before meals, attend church, and do my best to avoid sin. While these practices are meaningful, I eventually realized that I was treating my relationship with God more like a set of tasks to complete rather than a life of trust and surrender.

I was checking all the right boxes, yet I still felt distant from Him. Have you ever felt that way? Like you’re doing all the ‘right’ things but still longing for something deeper?

Moving Beyond a Checklist Faith

A checklist approach to faith can feel safe because it gives us a sense of control. We think, If I do these things, God will be pleased with me, and my life will go well. But faith was never meant to be a formula —it’s a relationship. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time followed the law meticulously, yet Jesus saw through their outward obedience:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.” (Matthew 23:27)

These religious leaders had perfected rule-following, but their hearts were far from God. I began to ask myself, Am I truly trusting God, or am I just trying to manage my faith on my own terms?

Learning to Trust

God invites us into something far better than rigid rule-keeping — He invites us to trust Him with everything. Proverbs 3:5-6 speaks directly to this:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

There was a season in my life when I felt God calling me to step into something unfamiliar. I resisted at first — I wanted reassurance, a clear plan, and the comfort of knowing everything would work out. But trust doesn’t work that way. God often asks us to step forward before we see the outcome.

Maybe you’re in that place right now — facing a decision, a transition, or a challenge where God is calling you to trust Him more deeply. I want to encourage you: He is faithful. Even when we don’t have all the answers, He does.

A Faith That Moves Beyond Fear

Trusting God doesn’t mean we won’t feel fear — it means we choose to rely on Him despite it. Isaiah 12:2 reminds us:

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2)

I remember a time when anxiety gripped my heart, and I felt paralyzed by uncertainty. I opened my Bible, and Psalm 46:10 spoke directly to my soul:

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

In that moment, I realized I had been striving so hard to do all the right things that I had forgotten to simply be with God — to rest in His presence and trust His heart.

Resting in His Presence

Jesus invites us into something far more freeing than a checklist faith. He calls us to come to Him and rest:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

If you’ve been feeling weighed down by spiritual expectations, I want to remind you that God isn't asking you to earn His love. He’s asking you to trust it. His love is not based on what we do, but on who He is.

So today, let’s take a deep breath. Let’s release the need to control every step and instead place our trust in the One who holds our future. He is faithful, and His plans for us are always good!