Doves On Distant Oaks

Unconditional Trust

Trust is one of the hardest of the emotions to get a handle on. We can look around at the world today and it's hard to find an adequate supply of people and institutions we can trust. We are always being let down ... by leaders, by friends, even by our spouses. Trust of political leaders is at an all-time low. We live in times where most people think in terms of "What's in it for me." That makes it difficult to make and maintain true friendships. And divorce rates are typically considered to average around 50 percent, though that depends on age. In fact, Christians divorce is about the same rate as non-Christians. Trust seems to be the first casualty in our relationships today.

Perhaps the problem is that we live in times where most people think in terms of "What's in it for me?" That makes it difficult to make and maintain relationships. Divorce rates are typically considered to average around 50 percent, though that depends on age. In fact, Christians divorce at about the same rate as non-Christians. Trust seems to be the first casualty in our relationships today.

What that does is turn us inward. We begin to think that the only person we can trust is our self. We get distrustful of the world, turn to our own abilities, and figure that God is just as untrustworthy, which is a lie directly from Satan.

It was not always so. As children, we started out with full trust of the first people we had a relationship with—our parents. I recall going to a public swimming pool once and saw a father holding his toddler shoulder-deep in the water. He was bouncing a little, but the boy showed no fear. That's because he wasn't looking toward the side of the pool and safety, he wasn't looking at the water in fear, he was looking directly into his father's eyes. he was filled with unconditional trust, safely in his father's arms. He feared nothing as he laughed and giggled.

All we need to understand is that God is like the little boy's father. He has never, nor ever will, let us go. He has promised us that. Certainly, we get bounced in the water a little, sometimes a lot, but God allows that to show us that he still has us in his arms. He will never let us sink. What we tend to do is jump out of his arms in fear and and start floundering in the water. Even then, he will reach out and rescue us if we reach back for him.

Have you jumped out of God's arms? Are you floundering in the water? All you need to do is reach out for God and he will reach back, pulling you safely into his arms. Then just keep your eyes on Him and you will always be safe. We still have that trust of a small child inside us. We just need to remember it.

Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

– Proverbs 3:3-6