In God We Trust

A few years ago, a young boy in fifth grade was praying in the school hallway. His aunt had unexpectedly passed away earlier that week i, and the family had agreed to pause at 11:30 that morning to unite in prayer for all who were affected by the tragedy.

A classmate noticed the young boy praying and later approached him on the playground, giving him a United States dollar bill. Like every United States dollar bill in circulation, on the back it read, “In God We Trust.” The classmate told the fifth-grade boy to trust in God and that all would be well.

Three years later, the young fifth-grade boy was now an older and more mature eighth grader. He learned of another man, nearly 40 years his senior, who needed comfort. The boy wrote a short letter to the older man that essentially said: “Someone gave this to me when I was having a hard time. And I now want to give it to you.” Included in the letter was the same dollar bill given to that little fifth grader on the playground three years earlier. And there on the back of the bill was, of course, the same inscription: “In God We Trust.” With tears in his eyes, the man took the dollar bill home and placed it on his dresser, where he and his wife could look at it each day and be reminded to trust God in their every need.

Trusting God builds our confidence, dispels our fears, and lays the groundwork for miracles to occur.

This was true for King Hezekiah when his people faced the vast invading armies of Assyria. He told his soldiers, “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed, . . . for there be more with us than with him: with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon [his] words.” 1 And they were saved.

Like King Hezekiah and the fifth-grade classmate, as we each strive to trust in God, we can be assured that God will fight our battles. He will be “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” 2 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” 3