05/01/2022
TRUST
Trust… for many of us, who have put our trust in someone, only to find out that the person was not really trustworthy, has caused us to be leery of trusting anyone ever again. Or at the least, we have learned to not put all our trust in one individual.
Many times our personal experience of trusting someone is expecting something from the individual.
Perhaps it was a friend, or even a sibling, whom we shared our personal feelings about something that we did not want anyone else to know. We just had to tell someone our secret! And then a week later we learned that our secret had been shared, and now the whole wide world knew our secret… and we felt what? Anger? Betrayed? Embarrassed?
Or maybe you went into a monetary agreement with someone you thought you knew, and you agreed to let this person have the old trailer for a certain amount of money, but he didn’t quite have enough, so you told him, go ahead and take the Trailer and you can pay me later when you get you paycheck.. Or a friend needed to borrow some money because, an emergency came up, and he did not have enough so you agreed to give him the money and he promised to get the money back to you as soon as he got paid….. Payday comes around… and you see your friend with a new motorcycle… You ask him for the money he owes you.. and he makes some sort of excuse.. like “I’m sorry man, I just couldn’t pass up this deal, it was too good to pass up… I will get the money to you next week, I promise!”… Next week comes and he avoids you.. You think what a chump you are.. and you will never trust anyone again. That does it!
Or, it is a relationship… You think you are in love… and you choose to marry someone, without really knowing the person, it is all feelings, and need. You go into the relationship with “expectations”… and just when you think everything is wonderful, you get hit with a bombshell, He/she was not who you thought they were. You caught your spouse with someone else! Or you find out that your spouse has a gambling addiction and has lost all the money you personally had saved to buy a home, yet you added him/she with BLIND trust to your accounts. You feel let down, and hurt and not ever going to trust again.
You find it hard to be open with anyone.. and you find yourself avoiding others, as you feel you can not trust anyone. Right?
But, if we look deeper into our heart, we realize we are just as much to blame. We put ourselves in a situation where we trusted the wrong people and for the wrong reasons..
Don’t feel bad, we have all been there. And we learn from these experiences, that we need to do responsible things to avoid being scammed or hurt by others.. such as background checks, or getting a contract in writing, and making it a legal document.. You put the other party in a position where they are responsible.
Now we come to a spiritual trust. This is a whole other way of looking at ourselves and others. When we are struggling with relationships, making ends meet, life in general, .. we are not happy with ourselves.. we find we can’t seem to trust our own ventures or decisions. No one seems to be able to make us happy. We are lost, we are empty.. and by some chance, if you want to call it that.. someone comes into your life and they invite you to their church. Oh you have heard of Jesus, it is just another thing people use to get you to give them money,.. you don’t have time for that, or you were burned out by it as a child when your mom drug you to church every Sunday.
BUT.. you see how happy this person is.. you see something maybe even radiance in their smile. You wonder, maybe you are wrong, yeah, you don’t want to trust anyone, you find all kinds of excuses.. but.. yeah… BUT.. you seem to hear, or more feel a need to check this out.. a small voice encourages you to go…
You learn about Jesus. You learn how He loved everyone, when He walked on earth, and that everyone was included not just His disciples during that time, or even the soldiers that mocked Him and hung Him on a cross, but His Love was for EVERYONE… me, the person that never paid you back, your brother that told your secret, the person that broke your heart, your dad that ran out on your mother, the bully that pushed you into the mud puddle.. and most important, HE LOVES YOU.
His promises are never broken. All He asked of you was to become like Him by following the Word of the Father, GOD. And to believe in Him, and to Trust Him.
OOPS.. there’s that word TRUST!… How do you trust God, when you just can’t trust anyone.. You can’t even trust yourself!
Ahh, but once you give your life over to Jesus and God the Father and you accept the Holy Spirit and start to be like Christ. You study the Bible.. you learn how to trust again, it is a process and the first one and really the only One to Trust in is God. He will never let you down, as long as your expectations are in line with His Will. And if you are not in line with Gods will, if you are honest with yourself, it is not God that let you down, it is You.
As James shared this morning…Psalm 2 12 the last saying was…�Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
The following writing I came upon Friday, and as I read it, I felt this would be a good topic for a devotional… it is titled.
DIRECTION ... FROM GOD'S WORD
Several years ago I was presented with an opportunity that would most definitely change the course and direction of my life. I had never been good at making decisions, and this one was one of the biggest of my life. The decision required me moving my little family halfway across the country. I only had a couple of months to decide. I had sought the counsel of others (friends, relatives, etc.) but everything seemed foggy to me.
One night, as I was studying a Bible lesson for an upcoming children’s Bible study, I was reading the story of “Peter Walking on the Water” and the answer CAME TO ME in an instant. As I read how Peter stepped out of the comfort of his fishing boat to join Jesus walking on the water I realized that I, too, had to leave my comfort zone and step out into the unknown. I received direction for my life that night just by reading a simple story from the Bible … and I’m certain I made the right decision.
God’s Word is good like that. Psalms 119:105 says “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Sometimes we just don’t know what our next steps should be. We look to others for advice and counsel. We call friends and relatives and ask them what they would do in our situation. Although all of these avenues for direction are viable, can I suggest that we go to the Operator’s Manual and see what our Creator says? So many times I’ve read the Bible and gotten answers to my questions and direction for my journey simply from reading simple stories of those who have gone on before me. The Bible stories aren’t fiction. They are actual accounts of men and women who needed God’s help and direction, and He supplied them with their answer. I’ve always heard that we should “listen to the voice of experience.” The Bible is full of people whose experiences are written down for us to learn from and follow.
So, for those who are wondering what their next steps in life should be, before you go and ask everyone else what their advice and opinion is, I’d like to recommend a really good book to you. 🙂
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, Thus saith the Lord.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er,
Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more.
O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
Just in simple faith to plunge me,
'Neath the healing, cleansing flood.
Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life, and rest, and joy, and peace.
I'm so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.