Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
It’s so easy to type those words out, but it’s one of the most difficult things to do. Why is that?
We all like to be in charge of our own lives, make our own decisions, chart our own paths. Yet in order to lead like Jesus, we must learn to trust God and build trust with those we lead.
Demonstrated Trust
Throughout Scriptures, we find several examples of the ways God demonstrates His trust in us.
One of the decisions God made long before you or I came to this planet was to entrust humankind with some aspects of the deity. We are created in His image and we are given dominion over the earth and its animals.
Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’"
God also gave us the ability to choose, make decisions based on our own thinking and live our lives in relationship with Him or not. God also knew that we’d go astray, wander aimlessly, find our way to Him and perhaps choose to love Him unconditionally as He loves us.
In God We Trust
God consistently proves that we have great reason to put our trust in Him.
He was and is so committed to our relationship with Him that He did the most extraordinary thing – He gave His very own Son to pay the price so that our relationship with Him could be renewed.
As the parent of an only son, I can tell you that even on a bad day, I’d not be willing or able to give his life for yours or anyone else’s. God’s love for us is so strong that He could not bear to live separated from us. He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for each one of us, individually!
I was confronted with this aspect of God’s love a long time ago. Having grown up in D.C. and being attuned to the political world from a very young age, I remember hearing the stories of Chuck Colson and his moniker as “Nixon’s hatchet man” long before he founded Prison Fellowship. Then I heard he found Jesus in prison. I, of course, was skeptical at best and totally unbelieving at the worst.
As the Lord would have it, I was on staff of the same church that Chuck and his wife attended. I heard his stories firsthand, heard him pray like few and trust God with his life, his ministry, his everything. I became a believer in what God could do!
A few years later, I heard the person who led former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, now nearly forgotten, to the Lord speak of Noriega’s conversion, and I also knew the person who discipled him. I KNEW this was God at work.
I realized that in the years between these two events, I’d learned to trust the Lord and lean not on my own understanding.
Establishing Trust with Others
Why is trust so important?
Webster says that trust is “an assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.”
Trust is the necessary ingredient in every relationship – parent/child/, husband/wife, employer/employee, pastor/congregant, etc. Trust is the hallmark of every one-to-one relationship.
I can’t have a trusting relationship with someone if I’m not a trustworthy person. Do I keep my word? Am I on-time for appointments, events, etc.? Do I do as I say I will do? Do I pay my taxes? Do I ask the question – what would Jesus do? Jesus is the master trust builder.
What’s your trust level with your spouse, your children, your boss, your pastor, your friend? What steps can you take to improve your trust level with the most important people in your life?
I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people. Psalms 52:9 (NLT)
Written by: Karen McGuire
