How can we trust people? How do we trust God? There is no easy answer but to do it anyway! (Eating is in the doing!)

The wonderful thing about God is that he can be trusted as he has a proven track record.  He spoke through men (and women) about his purposes for Israel and even for the Messiah to come from Bethlehem. He has made so many promises which we can read about in the Bible and has fulfilled them.  There are some still to come to fruition but God has a plan and this will not be thwarted by the ideas of man.

To trust fellow humans is more difficult and often based on our experiences of people particularly in our formative years.  If a child is let down by parents, for example, then it is hard for him/her to form close relationships of trust as they get older.  However, God can bring an end to mistrust as we allow him to heal us from life’s experiences.

God formed and is sustaining our planet so we can fully trust his order of things and his ways of doing things even though different from what we might have done or might do. However, we can only trust someone if we get to know them and it is only as we become born again of God’s Spirit (see John, chapter 3) that the way becomes clear so that we can trust God even though the circumstances around us may not be that positive.

I was in a position on Wednesday when I attended the Christian Resources Exhibition in Manchester, England when I felt let down and disappointed.  On travelling home, I made a decision to trust God anyway and quoted that verse to myself “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 – New International Bible). I then considered all the positive things that had happened during the day and trusted God to work out all the dilemmas I couldn’t fathom myself. Then, I was at peace and saw the day as part of the overall plan in the work of Diamond Books.

I’m reminded about the verse, “I will trust and not be afraid” (Isaiah 12:2 – Authorised Bible). Trust is an antidote to fear. We can think of the what ifs and look back on the patterns that may have been negative in the past but in the now we can trust God and can learn to trust people as our fears subside. So trust is a powerful instrument placed in our hearts and minds that we can use to overcome adverse circumstances in particular.

Our children can learn to trust as we trust God for ourselves. They pick up what we adults do so it is a huge responsibility that God helps us with. Then we can be those models that reflect Christ and as God produces the fruit of his Spirit in us (see Galatians, chapter 5) then trust can develop.

We can trust God for the impossible.  I’ve seen this happen in my own experience and our children need to know this too. What is impossible with humans is very possible with God as he specialises in miracles! Let’s trust him to do beyond all that we could ask or think as we seek to let children know how much they are (and we are) loved by God.