Many things in our lives are based on trusting and believing. The amount of trust we have affects the quality of our life. Although we know, and hear repeatedly, that tomorrow is not promised, most of us go to bed each night, trusting that the sun will come up tomorrow and life as we know it will go on. Where exactly does this trust come from? Are we born with it? Did it just appear?
Trust is not an automatic response, but is developed over time. As new-born babies we come into the world completely unaware of what to expect. We cry if we need something….and hopefully someone will be there to meet those needs. For those of us who are blessed with loving parents….especially a Mom….we begin to trust that she will be there. This is the first step in our development of trust.
As we grow, and our needs get met, our confidence and self-worth begins to improve. The smart parent knows by now when we truly need something and when we’re just craving attention. Some of us seem to need constant attention while others are content playing alone.
Young children usually don’t like to wander too far from their parents and the comfort of knowing they are close by. The sight or sound of a new toy and other people might get their attention for awhile, but when they need to be fed or get hurt (need something), they want their mama….sometimes a substitute will suffice, but there’s nothing like the comfort one gets from the ones they love the most.
As we grow we learn just who and what we can trust and who or what we can’t. Trust is knowing that someone or something will be there consistently and it can be depended on….even if not available to us at the exact moment we feel the need for it, we know it is there.
Trust, in the dictionary, is a definition of faith and vice versa. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10: 17.
“For by grace (compassion of God )are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2: 8.
So God gives us the gift of trust….like some other gifts, we have to practice in order to use it correctly. For those of us who are born into a loving family and raised in trust, it sometimes comes too easy. Once we find ourselves out in the world, away from familiar family and friends, we often trust everyone….which is not always wise.
On the other hand, those who were not blessed with someone to care for them properly, might find it difficult to trust anyone. Each time we trust and are disappointed, trusting becomes harder…. especially when trust means putting ourself and our well-being into the hands of someone else.
We trust our doctor to treat our illness, the mailman to deliver our mail, but who can we trust with our feelings and our secrets….our heart? Some things are just too hard to talk about, too complicated to explain, or even understand ourselves. To share it with anyone just doesn’t seem possible. Why not turn it over to the one who wakes us up each morning and makes the sun rise and set? He already knows what you’re going through and is ready to help.
Often, the ones we do trust, we take for granted, like our parents, the mailman….but especially the one who loves us most: God. We take for granted that the sun will rise without giving a thought to the one who created it and causes it to rise. Trusting people is one thing, and often really hard, so how hard must it be for some to trust in God….something they can’t see?
When people and life have driven you to the edge of despair and you feel all hope is lost, don’t listen to the voice telling you these things are so. Where there is life, there is always hope. But don’t put your trust in people alone. People can’t turn your life around, but God can. People might forgive you, but their forgiveness cannot cleanse your soul and make all things new….only God can do that. You will find your strength in Him. Trusting is believing and you can believe this: God loves you and will never betray your trust or faith in Him. All you have to do is call on Him and He is right there ready to rescue you and take your sins as far away as the east is from the west. A new beginning is what He promises to those of us who believe….and trust.
