Trust

Definition of trust; firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Synonyms; confidence · belief · faith · freedom from suspicion/doubt · sureness · certainty · certitude · assurance · conviction · credence · reliance

Trust is not something I had much of. Maybe trust / assurance that people were not to be trusted. My heart became hardened very early in life due to the abuse I endured. It seemed nobody was trustworthy, and all the world was out to hurt me. This happens especially to children who encounter abuse early in life, especially when they have been betrayed by a parent or someone who was supposed to nurture and love them, someone they were supposed to be able to trust.

Many experience betrayal in this wicked world. Many have become hardened to life and know what it means to not be able to trust. Submission demands trust. If you can’t trust, you cannot submit to another, whether to a parent or another adult. The Bible talks about submission.

Ephesians 5:24 – Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

1 Peter 5:5 – Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

James 4:7 – Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

So how does one become able to trust in spite of being abused or hurt or betrayed by the ones who should have loved you? How does one learn to trust, have faith in a God they can’t see? How do you not see God as you see those on earth, like your earthly father?

This may sound rather simple, yet it is easier said than done. Forgive. And then repent. Truly repent. What??? Yes! Learning from personal experience, I am now learning to trust God. Even when I cannot trust man completely, I know that I can trust man through trusting God.

Forgiveness is not letting that person or persons off the hook, for what they did to you. It is putting it in God’s hands. Romans 12:19 – Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

That means letting God take care of it, even when He doesn’t do it the way we’d like. In the end, we will all stand before Him and give an account of what we have done. When we choose to forgive, God has to be the one to take the junk out of us, but we have to choose to let go of it. As we do that, God can begin a transformation in us. It is the other person’s responsibility to choose to allow God to change them. I chose to forgive all those who had hurt me. Then I had to repent to God for all my sins and transgressions. We are all guilty. Once we have truly repented, God can begin a work in us that will simply amaze us.

Several years ago, as I was praying with a group of women, God showed one of them a hard shell falling off my heart and He told her I would be able to trust again. It hasn’t been easy. It has been a journey with Jesus leading the way, and many times dragging me, kicking and screaming. Jesus won. That hard shell has fallen off and my trust and faith in Him grows daily. I can feel His love now. Simply amazing. Only Jesus. As I learn to trust Him, and submit to Him, His Word says then the devil will flee. It’s a whole new way of living!