Trust

Trust has become a central focus in my life these days. People's trust in me, my trust in others, and more importantly - my trust in God.

You see, this area of trust or more accurately, lack thereof, is not something I thought I struggled with. As long as I can remember trust hasn't been an issue. People have been able to trust me, I them and I never waivered in my trust in God or His promises...and then human nature takes over and life smacks you in the face.

The book Ruthless Trust describes trust like this.. Faith arises from the personal experience of Jesus as Lord. Hope is reliance on the promise of Jesus accompanied by the expectation of fulfillment. Trust is the winsome wedding of faith and hope. (pg 86)  I was cool with this description until I realized where my weak link was sitting. I struggle with the "expectation of fulfillment"... and to be clear I am not referring to my trust in humans but in God and His promises.

I seem to be able to trust Jesus to work and fulfill expectations in other people's lives - encouraging them to risk trusting Him, and yet I can't seem to do that for myself. What breaks my heart deeply is that there are people throughout history and today that have suffered pure evil at the hands of people that are supposed to love them and care for them, hence warping their view of what real love looks like. And yet even these souls have found the courage to put their naked trust in Jesus when I, who haven't had much in the way of wordly troubles, can be so afraid.

These victims of tragedy (think child abuse, genocides, etc.) have been able to say "God is still trustworthy - even if He doesn't intervene on my behalf".

These people are my heros... They trust with the expectation that Jesus has their back regardless of their circumstances.