05/31/2023
Trusting solely in God, this is my contemplation this morning. There is none but Him who is true and always dependable. He is worthy of our trust and His Word never wavers. Yet, despite this knowledge, we have a tendency to place our confidence in our own ability to resist temptation, and each other’s loyalty and selflessness. By doing this we find ourselves disappointed over and over again, and yet we persist in this behavior. We are fallible, and in being such we have the propensity to let others down that have put their trust in us, but God never fails us and His Word is forever true. Even Jesus acknowledged the inability of man to be trusted:
“But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”
John 2:24-25 ESV
I am not saying that men are all bad. We have friends and family that would lay their lives down for us, but in some small things we find disappointment, even in these whom we trust most... the brother who wore your favorite jeans to school on the morning you wanted to wear them; the best friend that left you at a party without a ride home when he had to choose between you and a pretty girl; the parent that couldn't come to an event that was important to you... these all seem trivial, but my point is that God can be trusted in all things and in all situations; not just the large ones, but the small and trite as well.
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
1 John 5:14-15 ESV
Then there are the large betrayals, the conman who stole your money, the spouse that was unfaithful, the workmate that blamed you for something they did in order to protect their job... you get the idea, and our lives are full of such situations in which our trust in someone proves to be unfounded. In Psalm 56 the psalmist also has experienced this and wrote about trusting in God above man when he penned these words:
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”
Psalms 56:3-4 ESV
And in Proverbs we hear of the trustworthiness of God. We are told that He is not only trustworthy in the big things of life, but in everything He says and does...
“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
Proverbs 30:5 ESV
There is no disappointment when we place our trust in God and His Word. We may not like something He says to us, but His Word can always be trusted and His intentions towards us are always good. He tells us what is right and never attempts to placate us with false praise; He never tells us what we want to hear just to console us; and He will always speak truth when we ask Him what He thinks about something we have done. He is the foundation of trust and our rock of truth in this world of lies and deceit. His goodness and love can be trusted now and forever.
“I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."”
Psalms 91:2 ESV
Prayer:
Father, you are the unmovable force of truth in our lives, and in you our trust is safe and well founded. In your Father our deepest secrets are safe and our protection secure. In you we never fear betrayal. You are trustworthy always and your Word holds the key to eternity and love for us. Holy Father, we ask that you forgive us when, in our humanity, we disappoint you, and we also ask that you lead those whose trust we have broken in some way to forgive us; just as we will forgive them. Lord, we are fallible, and lean heavy on your steadfastness in order to lift ourselves above our nature. You guide us, keep us and treat us with mercy and grace when we have disappointed you. Father, keep truth upon our lips and make trust the evidence of our actions. Lead us to a closer walk with you, and in that closeness make our steps true and our words good and worthy of trust. In you we entrust ourselves, and in you we find the comfort of perfect truth.
Rich Forbes