4 WriteStuff

The lies we tell…
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me…
Bones heal, but harsh words pierce the heart. Even when we forgive, there is a level of trust which can take a long time to re-attain.

I was meditating on one of my favorite verses as I walked the other day:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8

The word that has been teasing my mind is “trust”… Trust in the Lord doesn’t just look like knowing He will take care of us, it also looks like being proactive. With retirement around the corner, God has been reminding me of this over and over, trust me, but make what you do count. We have always had to count our pennies and make our pennies count. This has been and will continue to be our life. I am content with that. I have not prayed for riches, like the proverb, my prayer has been, the Proverbs 30 prayer,
“8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.”

I remember a lesson on Psalm 23: “He makes me lie down in green pastures…” Depending on where you are from, green pastures can look like belly deep alfalfa or scattered tufts of buffalo grass. Not all animals should be turned loose in a field of alfalfa… they can bloat. In the pictures I’ve seen of Israel… green pastures can mean a mouth full of grass here and there, not deep alfalfa. Whether we are in deep alfalfa or grabbing a bite of grass here and there, is it still not provision?

Trust… what about our fellow humans? Betrayed trust is painful and trust is hard to regain once lost. How do you measure a person’s trustworthiness? Honestly? integrity? reliability? compassion? faithfulness? I imagine that answer is slightly different for each of us.

TRUST…. do I, as a human, truly know what/who/how to trust?

Miriam Webster: Trust:
1 a : assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something
b : one in which confidence is placed
2 a : dependence on something future or contingent : hope
b : reliance on future payment for property (such as merchandise) delivered : credit bought furniture on trust
3 a : a property interest held by one person for the benefit of another
b : a combination of firms or corporations formed by a legal agreement; especially : one that reduces or threatens to reduce competition
4 a : care, custody the child committed to her trust
b (1) : a charge or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some relationship (2) : something committed or entrusted to one to be used or cared for in the interest of another
c : responsible charge or office

Trust in Proverbs 3:5 is batoch, “refuge, to trust, be confident or sure, be bold, careless, put confidence, hope”

Who/What/When/Where/How do we trust? Who is my refuge? My confidence?

So many things we tie up together that don’t really belong together… Trust, love, like…. are just a few of those. I can love someone and not like their actions; I can love someone and not trust them… there is a difference between our physical, spiritual, emotional beings… there are different levels of trust. Let’s face it, we all fail, there are times when we are all less than trustworthy, and there are things that are beyond our ability to do. In the physical realm, we sometimes take on too many projects and either end up dropping the ball on one or not performing to our usual standard. Life is not black and white – we need to be aware of limitations and adjust our expectations… often. Trust is not all or nothing… an appropriate level of trust usually falls somewhere on that middle ground.

It reminds me of teenagers… “don’t you trust me?” “Yes, I trust you, but not with xyz.”

For example, there are people I trust with electrical, others with plumbing, others with falling trees, others with computer work, others with spiritual, financial or emotional counsel… sometimes they are the same people, sometimes not. I trust Mike to fix the car – he does NOT, NOT, NOT trust me to fix it!

Trust… Proverbs 3:5-7 is about trusting God… how much do I trust Him? Enough to quit worrying? Enough to not be afraid?
When I look at His past record, just the parts I have experienced show that He is trustworthy beyond my comprehension… and that’s probably what my trust needs to look like – beyond comprehension.