By Alice Smith
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. Psalm 125:1, NIV
When Bryan, our youngest son, was just a small boy, he asked his dad to put him on top of a large seven-foot-high concrete platform at the library. Eddie did so. After a few minutes, Eddie reached out his hands and said, “Jump, Bryan! Daddy will catch you.” Bryan was not so sure. Eddie said again, “Jump, son. I won‚Äö√Ñ√¥t let you fall. You can trust me to catch you.” Cautiously, but obediently, Bryan jumped into his daddy‚Äö√Ñ√¥s arms.
About four months later, Bryan was climbing a tree at a park. When it was time to go, Eddie reached out his arms to Bryan and quietly said, “Jump.” To Eddie’s astonishment, Bryan joyfully jumped into the arms of his loving father.
Most of the disappointment and pain we have suffered have come from misplaced trust. We have loved God and trusted people. Some of those people have violated our trust. Now we must learn to trust God and love people!1 Beyond the Veil, pgs 125-126
The issue of trust can be a tough one, can’t it? The Scripture has something to say that will help you understand trust a little better. “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man” (Ps. 118:8, NKJV). As if to underscore His point, God says in the next verse: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes” (Ps. 118:9, NKJV).
Could it be that the people who have brought you the most disappointment weren’t really your problem after all? Sure, they may have hurt you, but is it possible that the greater sin was your expectations of them? You weren’t supposed to put your trust in them. You were to love them and to trust God.
This has been true for me. Every time I have looked to someone with an expectation of how they were to treat me, I have been let down. Once I remember how excited I was because the pastor was giving me a Sunday School class to teach. I prayed — I prepared and waited for the date to come. But just one week before my class was to begin, a person on the staff called and cancelled my class. I was so disappointed! And mad. The Lord began to speak to me about my problem. ‚Äö√Ñ√∫Alice, trust me, love others and you won‚Äö√Ñ√¥t live a life of constant disappointment.‚Äö√Ñ√π
Does this ring true for you as well? What about your trust in God? Does your prayer life indicate your trust in Him or are you praying anxiety-ridden, worry-filled prayers? God wants you to pray confident prayers based on who you know Him to be and what you know He has promised to give you. I turned my disappointments into a lifestyle of prayer, and now the Lord allows me to teach people all over the world.
Trust is necessary to a deep and abiding relationship with God. It is the doorway to intimacy with Him. Has your trust been damaged because you misplaced it by trusting someone to do something that they failed to do, or to be someone that they refused to be? I’m sure you found it hard to trust the next time around. If so, grab hold of your trusting heart and place it squarely in the hands of your unfailing, unconditionally loving Father in heaven. I have had to learn this, and so can you.
Pause here for a moment, take a deep breath and prepare yourself for a revelation: God Himself has allowed men to fail you in order to teach you to trust Him alone. He is jealous of your trust. He says, ‚Äö√Ñ√∫For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God‚Äö√Ñ√π (Exod. 34:14, KJV). Wow! Did you hear that? His name is Jealous! He is seriously committed to receiving your trust–so committed, in fact, that He guarantees failure to your misplaced trust-based relationships so that you will finally learn to place your trust in Him alone. (See Ezek. 13: 10-15 GW)
Why do you think this is true? Because He is the only one who will never fail you. God is the only one who will never let you down. Even those who love you most will hurt you from time to time. Not the Father! He is completely trustworthy. Your failure to trust Him is a miserable sin. It calls into question the integrity of a loving Father. You may say, I’m just cautious; you can never be too careful, you know.
Perhaps. But you can also use those words to disguise your unbelief. I have. But today is a new day. Learn to put your trust in the Lord alone. Even when people betray you, speak ill of you, walk out on you–allow these circumstances to help you grow. Solomon‚Äö√Ñ√¥s words give godly counsel:
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Prov. 3:5-6, KJV).
Will you trust the Lord to hold you, to love you, to heal you? Will you jump into His loving arms? Others will continue to disappoint you, but you can trust God. He will not let you fall. Guaranteed!