In a faculty meeting, we were voting by secret ballot in one of those situations where the bylaws were forcing multiple rounds of votes. One faculty member needed to leave to pick up her daughter from daycare and asked me to serve as her proxy. I agreed, of course, and stepped out of the meeting with her to get some guidance on how she wanted me to vote. Her response? “I trust you.”

We are called to trust God. In addition to Bible verses, I can think of a number of hymns with that theme starting with “Only Trust Him” and “Trust and Obey.” It seems to me that we often treat trust as an easy thing, as we tell people that all they need to do is trust in Jesus. That’s true, but is it easy? And do we always trust when we say we do.

When my colleague walked out of the building, she was not concerned about how I was voting for her. She had left that in my hands, and her focus was on her daughter and the evening ahead. She had no fear that I would use the power she had given me in any way that she would dislike.

This is the same kind of trust that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego expressed when they stood before the fiery furnace and declared, “If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king” Daniel 3:17 (ESV). It is the kind of trust that let Paul to say, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” Philippians 4:11b (NIV).

Do we always trust God that way? Is it really trust when we grit our teeth and say we’re going to trust God, but then we spend the whole week worrying about whether God is going to come through for us? Can real trust happen by a simple act of will?

Look at one of the key passages about trusting God: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV).  This doesn’t say close your eyes and let God do what he wants even though you’re worried that it won’t be what you want, or even let God do what he wants because it is best despite the little voice of fear. It says “with your whole heart.” How we do that?

The key, I believe, is exactly what allowed my colleague to walk away leaving complete trust in me: relationship combined with knowledge of character. She’s known me for over six years, and she has come to believe that I have good judgment regarding the kinds of things we were voting on.

The only way to trust God with our whole heart is to come to know him in both his character and his amazing love for us. There are two songs playing on the radio these days that help me think about the degree to which God is worthy of trust. “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury simply talks about the “overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God” that we could not earn and do not deserve. The other, “I Give You Control” by Tenth Avenue North, talks about how God doesn’t need us, but he wants us and loves us deeply, and that love is what frees us to let go and give him control of our lives.

I cannot will myself to trust God with my whole heart. I can look each day to recognize a bit more of his amazing love for me and I can work to understand his character a little better so that my trust because more deep and more complete with each day. As I understand God’s heart a bit better, he lays claim to more of my heart.

 

Photo by Felix Russell-Saw on Unsplash

** If you question the term “reckless” in referencing God’s love, I recommend checking out the video at https://youtu.be/6xx0d3R2LoU, in which Cory Asbury explains his use of the term about 5 minutes in.