There is a scripture that I love. It says, “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart.” (Proverbs 3:5 KJV) Why do you think it says, “ALL your heart?” Can we trust half-heartedly? I don’t think it’s possible because a heart divided creates confusion.
My own experience with a divided heart brought about heartache.
Anytime I didn’t trust someone, I had an ache in my heart, and my mind felt confused. I’ve learned mistrust is like a radar that sends a signal to your heart when you’re with someone who cannot be trusted.
I’ve learned to pay attention and have developed keen discernment on the issue of trust.
I believe the desire to trust is in our DNA. Adam and Eve knew what trust was in its purest form, and the serpent still seduced them. He shattered their lives and broke any trust they had.
Since then, we have had a deep longing to trust our fellow man. Still, the question remains – can we really trust?
As children, we trust until we’re hurt, which sometimes looks like abuse, and then we shut down. We distrust and go into our world because we feel unsafe. We seclude ourselves by playing alone in our room or playing video games, watching TV, or hiding in the world of social media. When trust is shattered, our social life suffers.
Isaac Watts says, “Learning to trust is one of life’s most difficult tasks.”
“In God we trust” is the start and the very foundation of how we have healthy friendships, marriages, and businesses.
When we put our trust in God, whom we cannot see, we can learn to trust people we can see.
That statement comes out of my childhood experience. I learned God is my Heavenly Father, and I can trust Him with my whole heart. All the Bible stories I learned as a kid reinforced my belief that says, “In God I trust.”
It was a childlike trust, but one I took with me into my adult life.
As a young teen and then a young bride, I was confident God could be trusted. I didn’t know then that I would face real trials, and my trust in God would be tested.
The disappointments of life would take me down a path of unending questions.
Can I trust God? If I could not trust Him, the foundation which I was standing on would ultimately collapse.
My childhood experience assured me that I could rely on God. In my adult life, filled with questions and confusion, I still knew God had the ability and strength to help me during my own “darkness of the soul.”
I came out of those years with greater confidence that I can “Trust in God with ALL my heart.”
My trust in God gave me hope to go on despite my foundation being shaken.
When you build your foundation with trust in God, the storms of life will come, and the winds will blow, but your foundation will stand firm.
If your foundation is built on anything other than trust in God, the storms of life will devastate and destroy.
Trust is the most crucial factor when building any relational foundation, whether with God or people. Even though you may feel God has let you down and a friend has betrayed you, with trust as your foundation, you will always have that to stand on and rebuild from.
You may not always trust people, but God has proven to me through the years that He is trustworthy.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Brennan Manning – “Trust in God is that rare and priceless treasure that wins us the affection of our Heavenly Father.”
