“Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalms 37:1-4 NIV
How well do you trust?
For some, trust is easy. They have experienced the unconditional love and acceptance that leads them to trust. Others struggle to trust because of hurt and pain they have experienced in life. The Lord desires our trust and for me…that is hard!!
It is not just my hurt that gets in the way of trust, but the hurt of those I love. Walking with others through their pain can lead to complications in our own trust. And yet…I know I have a God who is good and loving and kind and trustworthy.
So how do I grow my trust in God? I think the passage above from Psalm 37 will help us with that. First, step away from the immediate pain and see the bigger picture. See where others are loving and kind. See how God is present in the circumstance. Notice where love is intersecting with your pain or the pain of another.
A second way to grow trust is to do good. For me this looks like being a trustworthy person. Saying what I mean and speaking truth. It looks like being honest with God and not trying to trick Him into doing what I want Him to do. We will have trouble trusting if we ourselves are not trustworthy.
A third way to grow trust is to practice. And just like practicing anything, sometimes it will go well and sometimes it won’t. We start small and work up to bigger things.
What is one step you can take today to work on trust…specifically trusting God?
Heavenly Father, you know how hard it can be for us to trust. You lived this life with all of its hurts and pains. You know what it feels like to have trusted another and then been betrayed by them. Meet us in our lack of trust and comfort us with your presence. Amen.
Mandy
Sixty-six books in a year 