Really… You can Trust me!

Trust is something you earn and definitely something you don’t necessarily deserve! I’m sure we’ve all learned from trusting someone, whether a best friend, or our worst enemy, that you can be blindsided by someone you thought was trustworthy! Especially when the one you are dealing with is close – family, friend, children, pets, or even spouse.

Learning who we can trust is as important as letting ourselves trust. Fool me once, as the old saying goes, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me.

Learning to trust. That’s difficult when time and again you’ve lost something of value to an untrustworthy ally.

I’ve driven nearly 2.5 million miles in my lifetime and I’ve learned that you cannot trust every other driver. You must keep alert for weird moves and reactions to the roadway. Vigilant! Plotting your next move in case someone does something wrong!

Think about all those occupations we trust, or at least should trust. Doctors, surgeons, dentist, counselors, the court system, first responders, public servants, and this list could basically fill up a few megabytes of cloud storage! And, since I’m traveling today, how much can you trust the pilot, flight crew, refueler, baggage handlers, and can you depend upon a rivet made my the cheapest bidder in manufacturing days?

I’ve pastored for over 25 years, and you cannot trust everyone that enters the door of your church. You must keep alert for wolves in sheep clothing. Listen to Jesus for a moment:

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves:
be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”  
Matthew 10:16 (KJV)

I’ve been married for over 45 years, and I’m blessed with the best helper of my life that I could have ever hoped, wished, and prayed for, but we all still must learn to trust our soulmate as much as we trusted our parents during those young years they cared for you! The key to this trust? She makes it easy for me, and I hope I’ve made it easy for her.

Here’s another angle… Think about it… If diamonds are enternal, why do we see so many spend untold thousands, give to someone they say they will love forever, only to see the marriage fail and diamonds do not live up to their value. Do you trust diamonds?

Here’s my thought today, and it goes in line with the opening thought. Fool me once… Yes. I’ve trusted someone that failed me and left me gasping for breath. I may have to love them as a neighbor (Mark 12:30-31), but there is nothing that says they deserve my trust.

When you’ve been fooled and blindsided, then you struggle with trust issues. Who’s next? Are they lined up around the corner hoping for their opportunity to betray the trust you’ve put in them?

There is much to think about on this topic. Though others may fail me, I do believe in God whom I trust implicitly. There are thousands of years of experiences that says He will never leave me, nor forsake me. (Hebrews 13:5)

One of the oldest stories in the bible revolves around Job. He looses everything that he values – family, wealth, and even most of his friends. Though his bride and closest friends are standing by, Job declares this thought I want to share with you today.

“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:
but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”  
Job 13:15 (KJV)

“I will do what I know to do, and though he slay me, I will still trust in him!” (Paraphrased by me!)

Trust is a huge issue! Can you say that about others? Will you say that about your God? This is a deep spiritual thought: How much do you trust God?

I repeat what I learned as a teenager, “By a life I did not live, and a death I did not die, I rest my whole eternity.”

What is your formula for defining who you trust?