Trusting
This question recently came up in a group I'm a part of. "Why is it that we so easily put our trust into people we don't even know that well (i.e. pilots, daycare providers, etc.), and yet we find it so hard to put our trust in God?" What an insanely valid point. I'm no expert on these things, but as one who has been too quick to trust people and not quick enough to trust God, allow me a moment to go through some of my ponderings on this.
I think we have a tendency to lump God in with people. Because we trust too quickly sometimes, people change their behavior, sometimes shattering our thought of who they really are. Sometimes we can deal with the same person day in and day out, but almost every time we have to interact with that same person, we don't even know which personality to expect! Comedian Taylor Mason explains in a routine that every morning when he wakes up, his wife plays a game with him entitled, "Guess which mood I'm going to be in today!" He goes on to say that he's never won that game.
People are like that. We change. Our thoughts change. Our attitude changes. But Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Perhaps we come to God half-hearted, thinking that He is going to change or that He won't deal with us the way He has in the past. God is above and beyond humanity. He is who He is. He will be who He will be. Unlike the people we're surrounded with, who can be one thing one day and something else entirely the next, God is unchanging. Perhaps a side piece to this concept is that He doesn't fit the mold we're used to, but perhaps that means that He needs to become that mold.
Also, perhaps we know all too well who God is (or at least we think we do), and we don't like it. We have our own way of thinking and our own way of doing things, and we want God to fit into our box, our picture of who He should be. The problem there is, as I just mentioned, God is who He is. He's not who I say He should be. He is who He has always been. He's not the one who's changed, but because I'm comfortable with me and my thoughts, I don't want to deal with One whose thoughts are higher than my thoughts. I don't want to deal with a force that I have no control over.
And there it is.
Perhaps we feel like we have no power over anything, not even ourselves. The first person I naturally want to be able to trust is me. And yet, I fail even myself. I don't even trust myself. God knows me better than I know myself, which, to be honest, is a terrifying thought at times. Perhaps we don't want to trust God because He knows too much. What if we decide to trust Him with everything, and then He goes off and decides to reveal to the world those deep, dark secrets that we've tried so hard to hide? What if He decides to abandon me at the most crucial point in life, like other important people have done along the way? What if God isn't the Father that I've been looking for to fill the void left by an earthly father?
Let's face it. We've all been hurt greatly in the past. I wish that wasn't the case, but it's unfortunately a byproduct of our fallen world. God often gets the blame for that hurt, and yet, from the beginning, He's been trying to get us with Him on His plan for the ultimate benefit of all things. Who keeps messing it up? It's not God. In a lot of ways, it's me. I give a little, and then I take it back. I feel like I'm making progress, but then I decide to take it my way again. I trust God with my life, but then I remember the pains of my past. But here's the thing - God didn't hurt me. Selfishness hurt me. Pride hurt me. People - the people I trusted more than anything, just by virtue of being human - hurt me. We're dealing with deep wounds, and we all have a resounding message that we need to hear: God loves you.
GOD loves you.
God LOVES you.
God loves YOU.
It is a love that will never let you go. It is a love that is worthy of all our trust, all our life, all our self. People will fail. God never has and never will. People are fallen and sinful. Jesus is strong to deliver.
God, I'm sorry for the times I've neglected to trust You. I'm sorry for blaming You for the pain of my past. Please help me to forgive those who have hurt me. Please help me to forgive myself. Remind me constantly that you are not like us. You have never failed me. You're not about to. Let me trust You with my life, and never look back. In Jesus' name, amen.
Can you trust Him? Will you trust Him? Do you trust Him? Yes, it's a leap of faith, so let's jump together.
I think we have a tendency to lump God in with people. Because we trust too quickly sometimes, people change their behavior, sometimes shattering our thought of who they really are. Sometimes we can deal with the same person day in and day out, but almost every time we have to interact with that same person, we don't even know which personality to expect! Comedian Taylor Mason explains in a routine that every morning when he wakes up, his wife plays a game with him entitled, "Guess which mood I'm going to be in today!" He goes on to say that he's never won that game.
People are like that. We change. Our thoughts change. Our attitude changes. But Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Perhaps we come to God half-hearted, thinking that He is going to change or that He won't deal with us the way He has in the past. God is above and beyond humanity. He is who He is. He will be who He will be. Unlike the people we're surrounded with, who can be one thing one day and something else entirely the next, God is unchanging. Perhaps a side piece to this concept is that He doesn't fit the mold we're used to, but perhaps that means that He needs to become that mold.
Also, perhaps we know all too well who God is (or at least we think we do), and we don't like it. We have our own way of thinking and our own way of doing things, and we want God to fit into our box, our picture of who He should be. The problem there is, as I just mentioned, God is who He is. He's not who I say He should be. He is who He has always been. He's not the one who's changed, but because I'm comfortable with me and my thoughts, I don't want to deal with One whose thoughts are higher than my thoughts. I don't want to deal with a force that I have no control over.
And there it is.
Perhaps we feel like we have no power over anything, not even ourselves. The first person I naturally want to be able to trust is me. And yet, I fail even myself. I don't even trust myself. God knows me better than I know myself, which, to be honest, is a terrifying thought at times. Perhaps we don't want to trust God because He knows too much. What if we decide to trust Him with everything, and then He goes off and decides to reveal to the world those deep, dark secrets that we've tried so hard to hide? What if He decides to abandon me at the most crucial point in life, like other important people have done along the way? What if God isn't the Father that I've been looking for to fill the void left by an earthly father?
Let's face it. We've all been hurt greatly in the past. I wish that wasn't the case, but it's unfortunately a byproduct of our fallen world. God often gets the blame for that hurt, and yet, from the beginning, He's been trying to get us with Him on His plan for the ultimate benefit of all things. Who keeps messing it up? It's not God. In a lot of ways, it's me. I give a little, and then I take it back. I feel like I'm making progress, but then I decide to take it my way again. I trust God with my life, but then I remember the pains of my past. But here's the thing - God didn't hurt me. Selfishness hurt me. Pride hurt me. People - the people I trusted more than anything, just by virtue of being human - hurt me. We're dealing with deep wounds, and we all have a resounding message that we need to hear: God loves you.
GOD loves you.
God LOVES you.
God loves YOU.
It is a love that will never let you go. It is a love that is worthy of all our trust, all our life, all our self. People will fail. God never has and never will. People are fallen and sinful. Jesus is strong to deliver.
God, I'm sorry for the times I've neglected to trust You. I'm sorry for blaming You for the pain of my past. Please help me to forgive those who have hurt me. Please help me to forgive myself. Remind me constantly that you are not like us. You have never failed me. You're not about to. Let me trust You with my life, and never look back. In Jesus' name, amen.
Can you trust Him? Will you trust Him? Do you trust Him? Yes, it's a leap of faith, so let's jump together.
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