Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. – Psalm 37:5 (ESV)
Trust. Just the word alone conjures up all sorts of things. From people to inanimate objects, we have to do it at some point in our lives. It is not just a matter of doing it once in our lives, it is a continual process we must go through multiple times. If we don’t learn to trust, then we are in danger of standing still and going nowhere.
Sometimes learning to trust can be easy. We see other people doing it in certain situations and we follow their example. Trusting in family and friends can also be an easy thing to do. However, when it comes to trusting in things and people we don’t know too well or not at all, we run into all sorts of problems.
What stops us from trusting what we don’t know? Is it a fear of the unknown and what could potentially happen or is it something else? Some people base their trust on the things they have learned or the way they were raised. Others may look at the reality of the situation and try to determine whether the person or thing is worthy of their trust. Whatever the reason, people do have a hard time learning to trust in a lot of situations.
Fear is our greatest barrier to learning to trust. We are scared to trust and place our problems in other people’s hands. We don’t to bare our lives to a stranger only to have them destroy it. Most of us, at one time or another, would have faced a situation where we put our trust in somebody or something only to have it damaged. The more damage we incur from misplacing our trust, the more we are wary of doing it again in the future.
Trusting in the unknown can be fraught with danger and we quickly learn to be more cautious. Trusting in the known can bring hope and peace but only if we are willing to let go of our mistrust and fears. How do you determine the unknown from the known? Do you place your faith on your experience, or do you place your faith in something or someone more reliable?
Placing your faith and trust in the only person who is truly reliable can be very hard especially when you find out that person is God. Those who have not accepted God find it the hardest trusting someone who is unknown to them – a virtual stranger and committing their life to Him. The fear of the unknown becomes much greater than it is with trusting a mere mortal. Even those, who love God and have committed their lives to Him can have the same struggles as those who haven’t.
To trust God completely, we must take that step of faith and overcome the fears that are within us. We must get through any prejudices, experiences, attitudes, and anything else that is hindering or stopping us trusting God fully. We must learn to trust in Him and the only way we can do that is through prayer and the constant giving of our plans, hopes and dreams to Him. The more we learn to trust God and see Him act in lives, the less fearful we become.
All you need to do is take the first step and commit your way to the Lord.