Have you ever struggled with trust; trusting others? even trusting yourself, your own thinking, your own judgement for your walk in life? I sure have.
Trust.
What is trust? According to Merriam-Webster
Dictionary, trust is a noun, meaning belief that someone or something is
reliable, good, honest, effective, etc.
1a.
Assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or
something.
1b.
One in which confidence is placed.
2a.
Dependence on something future or contingent; hope.
5a.
(1) A charge or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some
relationship.
5a.
(2) Something committed or entrusted to one to be used or cared for in the
interest of another.
5c.
Care, custody.
Some
applicable synonyms: confidence, credence, faith, stock.
Is
there anyone or anything that can be trusted to the fullest extent as defined
by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary? I
believe we all fail at some point; fall short.
If you look at reliable, how many times have you been late or forgotten
an appointment or promise you made?
How
about good? Who is really good; the
person that gives money to the poor? How about the person that pays all their
bills or keeps all their commitments? Haven’t
you had bad thoughts? Haven’t you judged people without knowing the whole story
and come to find out later that you were wrong and thank goodness you didn’t
say it out loud to anyone?
I
find that little children can be very honest.
They say the cutest things and sometimes they are brutally perceptive.
They have no boundaries or filters so they say what’s on their minds or say what
they see. I had a cup of coffee at home one morning. I did not brush my teeth
or use a mint before getting to work. I
was working with my autistic student, showing him how to say a word that
started with the “th” sound. As I blew through my teeth and air made its way to
him, he turned his head and placed his hand over his nose. “Well!” I said to
myself. But I can trust that child to make sure I knew I need to take care of
that coffee breath. I have, since then, kept mints in my pocket, in my car, in
my purse, and in my backpack.
I
don’t know if I would appreciate an adult telling me my breath is unpleasant,
though I would rather know so that I am not inflicting odorous pain on people. But
then can I trust the motives of someone who seems to want to help me but then I
find that my feelings are obviously hurt?
As
a human race, we cannot be trusted, as the word trust is described in the dictionary.
We are not 100% reliable, good, or honest. Our actions may have secret motives
that are self-seeking. Our actions may be of the “pat me on the back” kind, not
humble and not selfless. We can be
trusted one day, but not the next. Our out-of-control emotions may dictate
whether we can be trusted to follow through on a commitment made in the heat of
the moment.
There
is only one that can be trusted to the complete full meaning of trust and is
worthy of our trust, and that is God. When
we live like Jesus lived, full of the Holy Spirit, we can know where we are
going in this life. We know that God will not lead us astray and that He can be
trusted with our lives. Proverbs 3:5-6
says, “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.”
God doesn’t abandon us. When
life strikes us down; when others fail us; when we have wronged those that we
care about, He is good. He can be trusted to help us when we cry out to Him. Psalm 9:10 says “Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek
You.” And Psalm 22:8 says “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let Him deliver him,
since he delights in Him.”
I see good people, who I
have trusted and cared about, make a turn down the wrong road in life. Their
reasons for turning away from the Lord are weak and disappointing. I am saddened when a marriage of over 30 years
is going down the road of destruction because of pride; when a relationship
that is unequally tied together because personal feelings are more important
than what God says is right; when substance abuse is acceptable because God
cannot relieve the pain or change the circumstances; or when children are being
exposed to an inappropriate lifestyle because parents do not want to accept that there is a better way. There is
so much pain and hurt in the world; more than what I have experienced all
around me. All I have to do is turn on the news and there it is; pain.
Can you trust
others? Sure, you can. But you must
trust God above all others because people will fail you. Is it God’s fault when
you are betrayed? No, it’s the fault of the person who broke that trust. They
have free will to do as they want, including breaking your heart. The unselfish
response is to forgive, just as God has forgiven you.
We all need prayer. We all need forgiveness.
Heavenly God, only You
can be trusted. We cannot trust ourselves. We are corrupt in our hearts. We
need You to forgive us, to restore us, and to put us on the right path of
righteous living. We need Jesus as our
Savior. Without Him, we are lost, we
fail. With Jesus, we can have hope to move from a darkened state of living, to
living and walking in the light. Lord, You can rescue us from ourselves. Change
us, Holy Spirit. Help us to trust You with our lives. When we fall, You are
faithful and trustworthy to pick us up again and move us from condemnation to
fellowship with You. Lord, strengthen our faith in You, to trust you for all our
needs, physical, emotional, financial, and mostly spiritual.
Psalm 143:8 “Let the
morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I
should go, for to You I entrust my life.”
The song Oceans, speaks about when the oceans rise or when life becomes difficult, when our feet fail because of where we walk, we can call on the Lord and He is faithful to rescue us.
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