Beloved: A Study through the Writings of Brennan Manning

 

Session 4: Faith When You Can’t Feel Certainty

Based on Ruthless Trust and Mark 9:24

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I. The Honest Prayer

There is a moment in Mark’s Gospel when a father, desperate for his son’s healing, cries out to Jesus,

“I believe; help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

That prayer holds the tension most believers live inside.
Faith and doubt are not opposites. They often breathe in the same body.
One believes. The other trembles. Both are seen.

Brennan Manning wrote,

“The way of trust is a movement into the unknown, based on nothing but the word of Jesus. It is a daring gamble of faith.”

Trust begins when certainty ends.
It is not the absence of questions, but the decision to lean on love when the answers do not come.

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II. The Nature of Ruthless Trust

To trust ruthlessly is to trust without condition.
It means believing that God’s heart is good, even when His ways are hidden.

“The reality of naked trust is the life of a child who is not afraid to fall asleep in the arms of the Father, knowing that someone stronger will carry him home.” — Manning

Ruthless trust is not naïve.
It has felt disappointment, survived silence, and still refuses to let go.
It has learned to rest while not understanding.

Paul wrote,

“We walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

To walk by faith is to keep moving through fog, confident that love still leads the way.

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III. When Faith Feels Like Freefall

There are seasons when God seems hidden, and the familiar lights go out.
Certainty no longer feels available.
Old assurances lose their warmth.

Manning called this the grace of darkness.

“Craving clarity, we attempt to eliminate the risk of trusting God.
Fear of the unknown path stretching ahead of us destroys childlike trust in the Father’s active goodness and unrestricted love.”

Faith at its deepest is not sight, but surrender.
It is learning to rest in God’s character instead of demanding to see His plan.

“When we are strong, we trust our strength. When we are weak, we trust God.” — Manning

Weakness, then, becomes holy ground where trust grows stronger than fear.

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IV. The Practice of Still Trust

Trust matures in silence.
It listens more than it speaks.
It becomes a posture of heart that says,
“Even if I do not see it, You are still good.”

David prayed,

“But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.” (Psalm 13:5)

This kind of trust is not passive.
It keeps showing up, keeps doing good, keeps choosing peace over panic.
It keeps saying yes even when emotion says wait.

“The decisive issue is not whether we trust in God, but whether we trust in the God revealed in Jesus Christ, whose love knows no bounds.” — Manning

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V. The Invitation

Faith is not the elimination of fear. It is learning to rest while afraid.
Trust grows strongest when everything else feels uncertain.

Ruthless trust means giving up the illusion of control and standing still in the presence of mystery.
It is to whisper in the dark, “I do not understand, but I still choose You.”

“To trust in the love of God in the face of disaster is the supreme act of faith.” — Manning

That is the faith that carries you when the road is long and unseen.
It is not loud or confident. It is quiet, like the steady heartbeat of one who knows they are held.

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Practicing Trust This Week

1. Name your unknowns.
   Write down three things in your life that feel uncertain.
   Beside each one, write the phrase, “Even here, I trust Your heart.”

2. Pause before fixing.
   When something goes wrong, resist the urge to control or repair immediately.
   Take one deep breath and pray Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.”

3. Return to gratitude.
   Each evening, recall one moment when you felt carried rather than in control.
   Give thanks for that invisible provision.

4. Speak trust aloud.
   Throughout the day, whisper short prayers of consent:
   “I choose to trust You.”
   “You are here.”
   “I am safe in Your hands.”

5. Release the timeline.
   End your day by reading Proverbs 3:5–6:
   “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.”
   Let that verse quiet the need to know how everything will unfold.