Sunday, April 27, 2008

Worthy of Trust

Who do you trust? Who is worthy of your trust? Of course, there are different levels of trusts and we trust different people with different things. Some things we trust others with can be: caring for our children, borrowing our possessions, completing a task, keeping our confidence, telling us the truth, sharing our heart, lending our money, saving our life, aiding in dire times, befriending without judgment. There are so many matters and so many levels of trust to extend to family, friends, co-workers, and even strangers at times. Trust is so vital to every relationship. It must be earned, it can be lost, but it can also be restored. "All things are possible with God." Mark 10:27

Do you trust God? Is it easier to trust man or God? I'm sure your first thought is "duh, God." God never fails us and man does so "God...final answer." But have you ever pondered on this? We are not to base our life and decisions on feelings but does it sometimes feel like it's hard to trust God? Does it depend on the situation? Let me try to explain. Sometimes, it can be easier to trust man than to trust God. I say this because with man, we can choose when to trust and when not to trust. We can decide when and with whom to share our hearts, kids, possessions, tasks, etc. Right? We don't have to tell "Jane" our secrets and get hurt. We don't have to let neighbor Bob watch the kids and be fearful the whole day. We don't have to lend the mower to Uncle John and let him break it once more. We don't have to ask co-worker Mary to do a task and worry with the accuracy. We in a sense can choose who we trust, when, and with what. So, if we choose not to trust any of the above, then we don't have to worry with getting hurt or let down with the outcome, right? Notice in all these situations (and many others) WE are in control. We control the situations and thus can control the outcome.

So, how is this different or easier than trusting our Heavenly Father? For starters, HE is in control. He's in control of everything. The moment we take control out of the Father's Hands, things start to go hay wire. Trusting God, means letting go of control. It means letting go of knowing the outcome and having any part in how the results will be. When we trust God, we are laying our life and heart on the line. Is it in safe Hands? ABSOLUTELY!! Is it scarey? It sure can be. We as humans can fully trust and rely on God but because of our nature, it can still be very scarey to not have an idea of what the future holds. Though, with time and more trust extended to God, it does get easier to trust without fear of the unknown.

With human relationships, we can choose our route, the level of trust, or the level of closeness. With God, we must give it all up. We are basically at His mercy. It is a good position to be but it can be difficult at times. The times that it seems most difficult is when our heart has a stake in it...when our desires are not fulfilled, or rather not fulfilled yet...when He calls us to something and we just can't see how it's going turn out...when we want something so bad and don't know how He's going to answer. It can all be very scarey. On the flip side of that fear, we have the knowledge that God only wants the best for us. So, even though the unknown is unsettling for most, whatever the unknown turns out to be, with God at our side, we cannot fail. We will be okay because we have the only thing we need: Christ as our Savior.

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. Psalm 28:7

In all things do we trust God? Do we trust Him with the big things and the little things? He is so worthy of our trust and He deserves for us to trust Him with all things. He desires for us to let go of control and to trust Him with everything. He only has the best in store for us but we HAVE to trust Him. Things may not always be smooth sailing but we can trust He'll NEVER leave our side. Trust is not only a key characteristic of human relationships but also with our God. We have to trust Him to allow Him to fully work in our lives. (He will not barge the door down.) It's in those times of not understanding at all that He calls upon us to trust Him the most. In turn, there is a level of trust that God also extends to us. He wants to know that we are trustworthy in the small things before He will extend the larger things into our hands. "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Luke 16:10

Are you having trouble fully trusting in God for those precious things closest to your heart? Is it hard to trust God when there is so much unknown occuring in your life? It is very hard to give up control of our life into the Hands of God but it is SO worth it. We must open our hand and let go so that God can do His work. Trust me, speaking from experience this is very hard and it is a process. One of my very favorite scriptures of all times is in Proverbs. Someone gave it to me about ten years ago. It is the verse that I probably quote to myself the most in times of worry and fear of the unknown. When the questions of how this, or why this, or what about this come....inscribe these words onto your heart to never be removed.

Trust in the Lord with all your hear and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6.

Be Blessed in Him,

8 comments:

Pamela (His maidservant) said...

Beautiful post Paula. I am daily working on building my trust more with Him. It is through a daily walk with Him that builds that trust relationship.My step daughter just brought me a knee pad for when I am out working in my flowers. It made me think how I need to be on my knees to build my trust.
Blessing1

In His Graces~Pamela

Anonymous said...

What beautiful words! Trust is a hard thing but I am working daily on giving God everything and TRUSTING Him to take care of it all!
Blessings ~ Christi

Unknown said...

Paula-
You and I are so much on the same wave length... I wish I could speak as eloquently as you. (not my gift, but I do have a warrior's heart and you know my prayers are with you).. kathy

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Paula:
Thanks for visiting my blog. No, I'm not related to Rachel Olsen, but I'll have to check out her blog to see the resemblance!

Trust has been a life-long issue for me. Others have broken my trust, and I have been at the root of others distrust. After 42 years, I am beginning to live in the "bigger picture" mentality. I don't think trust is something we gravitate toward in the natural.

Thank you for your wonderful thoughts on the matter and the powerful scriptures. God's Word is meant to be absorbed into the fabric of our souls until we can recall its power in a moment's pause. Sounds like you are well on your way in the area of trust.

Be blessed and peace!

~elaine

Shirley Mary said...

Thanks, Paula, for your comments left on my blog. We had a wonderful time at the beach but I am getting over some kind of respiratory problem, something I think has been going around. I have been pretty weak and not doing much reading or writing of blogs. But, yes, I have read both, "Worthy of Trust" and "Seeking Him." Both have real "food for thought." I have also read all the comments that others have written. I'm sure this is a real encouragement and joy for you to know that your thoughts are blessing other lives. And the flowers. . . oh, so beautiful!

I noticed you have got pretty fancy with the signing of your name :) Love that too!

mary

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Paula:
I will pray that God restores your marriage in a marvelous way. It didn't happen with mine, and I can say honestly that, at the time, this wasn't the prayer of my heart.

My understanding of God's grace runs deep. I was a single mom for 3 years, and then God blessed me with a wonderful marriage, far beyond what I am due. What I am due is hell. What I have been given? Calvary's grace. So I come to the world...broken and forgiven, living in a lavish posture of thanks for the blood of Calvary.

If you ever want to email me anything of a more personal nature, please use the email button on the side bar of my blog. I will tell you this...

The best is yet to be my friend, just like my daddy said. Just like my heavenly Father has promised.

You can read a portion of my story under Elaine's favorites on my side bar entitled "My Ephesians 5:25."

You're doing the hard thing, girl. This is your hard. Just remember that God longs to mediate his majesty into our "hard."

Be blessed~elaine

Joyful said...

I'm so glad I found this post today (through Elaine's blog). I am going through a deeper intimacy with the Lord right now as I am learning to trust Him like I have never done before. Oh, I've said I trusted the Lord, but I haven't lived like I truly trusted Him. It is scarey. I like being the one in control. It's hard to surrender and totally abandon everything and simply trust. It is that simple, yet it's not. Your thoughts and scripture have so encouraged my heart today. Thank you.
Blessings,
Joy

Tommie said...

I've been here a few times and love all your writings. They are great. Thanks for visiting my blog. Drop by anytime and leave a note.
Bless you
Tommie