When I was in high school I was chosen to be part of a county wide leadership league. Each month high school students from around our county had the opportunity to meet with various leaders in our community to learn about leadership and to participate in various activities. This was a great experience, but one that took me far outside my comfort zone. I was really shy back then, and I definitely did not like trying new things. But there was something about this opportunity that stirred up the determination to be different just this once. I had to face so many of my fears. I was meeting new people, being asked to lead, actually volunteering to lead, and facing so many obstacles that I usually would have tried to avoid if at all possible. One of those obstacles was a ladder trust fall. This is where a person climbs to the top of a tall ladder and falls backwards into the arms of people that are positioned below to catch you. Being the largest person in the group and being extremely shy, I think everyone was surprised when I volunteered to go first, especially me. I climbed up the ladder, crossed my arms over my chest, locked my legs, and on the proper signal fell into the arms of the six teenage girls they had positioned below me. I was so glad they caught me and I think they were relieved as well.
In life, trust can be a very difficult thing. But why is it so hard? Trust is hard because we are dealing with things that are out of our control. We are not all- powerful or all-knowing and therefore there are things, like death, that are beyond our ability to control or predict (James 4:14). As far as people go, even a person with the best intentions can let you down, because like us all, they are not perfect. We as human beings have flaws, we make mistakes, and we sin (Romans 3:23). And while it can be good to be a trusting person, we all have to recognize the dangers of putting our trust in mankind and the things of this world. This is especially true in regard to our salvation. Afterall, Jesus says in John 14:6 that He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Nobody can get to the Father except through Jesus.
So if we cannot put our complete and total trust in mankind and the things of this world then what can we trust? In Proverbs 3:5-6 we read, “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.” Within these verses we see how important it is to trust in the Lord, submit to Him, and truly give our lives to Him. Trusting in God is not the same as trusting mankind. God is all-powerful. God is all-knowing and ever present. He is perfect, faithful, and righteous (1Corinthians 1:9, 1 John 1:9, John 14:1-3). If we will trust in God and in His Word the text says that He shall direct our paths. The Lord will lead us in paths of righteousness, and those are paths that lead to Him. We need to trust in the Lord and let Him be the Shepherd that leads our paths (Psalm 23). We need to have faith in Him and in His Word, knowing that His Word is absolute truth to light our path and lead us to Him. (Hebrews 11:6, John 17:17, Psalm 119:105). Having faith and trust in God is the only way we can be pleasing to Him. Let us no longer lean on our own understanding, but let us instead trust in Him or else we will fall.
Derek Broome