The Kind of Trust That Heals

In regard to the world there is nothing to trust in. It is shaky, inconsistent, moved by the slightest breeze of wind. Trees fall down, whether to the left or to the right, and without no warning there they remain. You do not know what this world will bring or what the people will do. Does this mean we should stay stagnant and never trust anyone or anything?

My temptation is to tell you yes. After too many painful moments, too many burnt bridges, too many heart crushing realizations; my flesh says let the world burn and fall captive to its own demise.

But what a lonely and sorrow filled life that creates.

“Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭11:1-2‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Ecclesiastes tells me that there is some truth to the feeling I am experiencing here. Misfortune will come do not be mistaken, but wisdom seeks to guard us with her light. Ecclesiastes directs us to cast 7 or even 8 portions amongst different ships. This is so that my life and my trust in this world, and its people are not completely placed in one thing. The enemy will whisper and say to limit your trust in a select few people or a select few things. Questioning me with deception: “Don’t you feel there is more control found in size management?” “If you center your focus here on this one place then maybe you can hold on tight enough to prevent what is up ahead.” “If you isolate then maybe you can find a space of comfort away from it all.”

What a tempting lie to believe.

Here is truth, the Lord says cast your whole livelihood out into the sea, but split it up amongst 7 or 8 ships. So that if one, two, or even three are destroyed, then all hope is not lost; for you have 5 more that will arrive to the shore safe and sure.

The fear is that every ship will be consumed and destroyed and the thought of that kind of pain goes much deeper. An expansion of trust is scary, yes. However, I believe it is needed for healing.

Maybe someone or something broke your trust, and maybe you were completely devastated. I know I have been. The question now is do we trust our God enough to keep believing He will bless us? Do we trust Him enough to believe He will make good of His word and fulfill every promise He has ever made?

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose trust is the Lord.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17:7‬ ‭NASB2020‬

Maybe the answer is not that I trust everyone because they themselves are trustworthy. Maybe the answer is I trust people because I trust the Lord has placed me in this space with these people and these things for such a time as now. Maybe I trust that when the ship wrecked it did not change the value of the good the ship contained. Maybe I trust that God has a purpose and a plan that far outweighs the plans I have settled for myself.

“Just as you do not know the path of the wind, and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes everything.”

Ecclesiastes 11:5 NASB2020

I have sat depressed and overwhelmed by the weight of the world for far too much of my life. Today I have decided I will not waste another second in agonizing sorrow. I will trust in what the Lord has gifted me and even when I cannot see it, I will trust He has already made a new path just up ahead.

“So remove sorrow from your heart and keep pain away from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭11:10‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

In this season of trusting, I've learned to explore. I have found that I love to bake. I love to go two stepping. I love to dog sit. I love to learn and write. I love to make dinner for a sweet friend. I love to turn on my music and dance. I love to eat ice cream as I make dinner. I love to serve my church. I love kickboxing. I love my friends from church, from home, and from school. I love sitting in the quiet with my Father. I love finding things that bring me even the smallest spaces of joy.

Where is it that you find joy?

This is casting my bread out onto the surface and trusting that one of those things will not show up void. Even if most do, I know my God won’t. So, I choose to start trusting my God has plans, good plans that I am just not yet aware of.

That is the kind of trust that heals.

“I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” For it is He who rescues you from the net of the trapper And from the deadly plague. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may take refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and wall.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭91:2-4‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Trust is a vastly different concept to most people I've talked with. Let me know your thoughts as we journey in learning together.

Talk to you soon (: