Dear Christian friends:
Here comes February and St. Valentine’s Day and the world’s focus on love.
It can be said that love is the foundation for a relationship and trust is the way to keep that fellowship straight and true. Essential to a loving relationship with Christ is trust.
Trust is a two-way street. Can God trust us and do we trust in Him? The depth of our faith and commitment will answer both questions.
When we experience God, our trust grows.
God wants us to trust in Him, and He wants to trust us.
Our goal as believers is to have a relationship of mutual trust. Through faith, we acknowledge that God is trustworthy. God entrusts us with time, talents, and money, and He wants us to be trustworthy in the use of our gifts.
Mother Teresa said, “I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.” God knows what we can properly take care of and how much He can trust us to use faithfully what we’ve been given.
In Scripture, trust enabled ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
- Because Abraham trusted God more than his own feelings, he was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac.
- David’s trust in God gave him the courage to stand up to Goliath.
- The Widow of Zarapeth was willing to give up the last of her flour to God’s prophet Elijah.
- And the Widow gave her mite, her last two coins.
Trust does powerful things.
Possibly the most familiar Bible story is about Noah. Noah trusted the Lord with his life. When God told Noah to build an ark, he built one even when there was no sign of rain, in fact, before rain had ever fallen from the skies! After the flood, Noah built an altar to the Lord and sacrificed many animals. Noah trusted the Lord enough to sacrifice animals which he would need for his future. He gave sacrificially even when there were no needy people to give to or churches which needed support.
How can we measure our trust?
Certainly, our trust can be measured by our willingness to give. When we give faithfully and generously, our time, talent, and treasure, we demonstrate the same trust that Noah, Abraham, and David had.
As our trust grows in the Lord,
His trust in us will grow and we will become effective servants for the Lord.
In Christ, Pastor Hartwig