Psalm 62:8 “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”
Trust can sometimes be illusive, but we always seem to have the desire to trust something or someone, even when our trust has been shown to be misplaced. When I was a teenager in youth groups, we often played games that required us to trust that something good was going to happen. Stand straight and fall backward, trusting that those behind you would catch you. Close your eyes and be led somewhere by someone else; not knowing where you will end up. I’m reminded here that this trust thing is important for both sides of these games. We learn the importance of trust and the importance of being trustworthy. The psalmist reminds us that ultimately the only sure place to put our trust is in God.
The calling of the Disciples is a good example of the importance of trust. Somehow they knew that they were called to trust someone they did not really know, and go where they were meant to go as they followed. Albert Day writes, “Every obedience, however small [if any obedience is ever small] quickens our sensitivity to him and our capacity to understand him and so makes real our sense of his presence.” Henri Nouwen tells us, “Christian ministry is called to express that in the service of others new life can be brought about.” Our trust is what makes our love of others really possible; especially knowing that it is not up to us alone, but that we can be used by God to accomplish more that imagined.
Charles Wesley’s hymn, Jesus Lover of My Soul puts it this way:
Other refuge have I none;
Hangs my helpless soul on thee;
Leave, ah! Leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me!
All my trust on Thee is stayed,
All my help from thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
with the shadow of thy wing.
Go forth now as God’s servant. Remember God’s presence often and draw strength from the knowledge that the One who calls also sustains. Amen.
Pastor David Brosnan
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