In Whom Can We Trust?

Trust is a fragile thing in relationships. One can make a conscious decision to love another, but I believe it is much harder, if not impossible, to decide to trust them. In comparing the synonyms trust, assurance, and confidence, Dictionary.com says: “Trust implies instinctive unquestioning belief in and reliance upon something.” When trust has been broken, instinct kicks in to expect more of the same.

At the core of trust is honesty. When we are not honest with others, then we will break their trust. Once broken, trust is very difficult to repair.

Trust is a beautiful crystal glass that holds the aromatic wine of a relationship. Broken trust is that crystal glass shattered on a marble floor. We can pick up the pieces and try to put them back together, but the shards will cut us in the process. The only hope is to find a new glass; renewed trust.

But there is One we can always trust, and that is God. We may not always like what God does, but He is always true to His Word. He is the Truth incarnate and can be taken at His word. This the Psalmists knew well, and they made it a recurring theme of the Psalms. Here are just a few examples:

Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9:10 (NIV).

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
Psalm 13:5 (NIV).

The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
Psalm 19:7 (NIV).

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalm 20:7 (NIV).

In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
Psalm 22:4-5 (NIV).

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.
Psalm 28:7 (NIV).

We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
Psalm 33:20-22 (NIV).

As humans, we long to trust in others, to find those on whom we can rely. But scripture tells us that the only One we can truly place our trust in is God:

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
Psalm 118:8-9 (NIV).

Sometimes that means we must trust that God is in control even as we struggle with the broken trust of our human relationships. And when we trust in God, we know that He can renew trust that has been broken beyond repair.