It's Not Just a Motto…

You’ve seen it—etched on every U.S. coin. Four words. Easy to miss. Easy to say. Hard to live.

IN GOD WE TRUST.

Most see it as a patriotic phrase. A nod to history. But for me, it’s personal.

I wrote about this in Face the Mountain—because that phrase became real after I nearly lost my life. For a while after, I played it safe. Stopped dreaming big. Stopped being brave. Stopped pursuing hope.

Doubt crept in—and it’s a monster. It stops you cold. Sometimes the only way to beat it is to trust someone bigger than yourself.

Why not God?

Trust is easy when life’s smooth—when the path’s clear, the paycheck’s deposited, and the plan is on track. But real trust shows up when nothing’s certain.

IN GOD WE TRUST isn’t passive. It’s not soft. It’s not sentimental.
It’s a choice.

A stake in the ground when fear gets loud.
A step forward when everything in you says to turn back.

On life’s mountains, trust isn’t about being fearless—it’s about being faithful to the voice you follow.
Fear yells, “Retreat.”
God whispers, “Take the step.”

Who do you trust?

Trust is the quiet strength that carries you when doubt tries to drag you down. And here’s something we don’t say enough: trust works both ways.

God trusts us too. Crazy, huh? But He does. He gives us a mission. He wouldn’t give it if He didn’t trust us to steward it.

We lean on God when the path is foggy. But He also leans on us—entrusting us with a calling, a purpose.
He doesn’t hand us the whole map, but He lights the next step.

That’s faith.
That’s where the climb gets real.

You can’t face the mountain alone and come out whole.
But when you carry IN GOD WE TRUST—not just in your pocket, but in your heart—you move with a strength that’s not your own.

Because trust is a muscle. It grows when it’s tested. Under duress. Under pressure.

So the next time you see IN GOD WE TRUST, don’t let it fade into the background.
Let it call you higher.
Let it remind you who you are—and whose you are.

Live it.
Take the step you’re scared of.

Mark Twain said, “If you want the fruit, you gotta go out on the limb and get it.”
Martin Luther King Jr. adds, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

Speak the truth you’ve held back.
Face the mountain.

The mountain isn’t there to break you.
It’s there to shape you.
To show you what you’re made of.
To pull you closer to who you were always meant to be.

You’re tougher than you think.
You’re more resilient than you realize.
You’re not just climbing with faith—you’re climbing with purpose.

And that changes everything.

Because there’s fruit on that mountain.
But you’ll never taste it if you don’t take the step.