Trust 

Sunday July 7th 2024 (week 76)
 
Proverbs 3
 
At the beginning of Sylvester Stallone’s Cliffhanger, Ranger Gabriel "Gabe" Walker (Stallone) attempts to rescue the girlfriend of his fellow ranger and friend Hal Tucker. Sarah is stranded high up on a rope strung between two peaks in the Colorado Rockies when her harness snaps. Gabe manages to grab her arm and hold on as every sinew in his arms is stretched to bursting. Sarah and Hal have all their trust in Gabe. But as seconds become minutes Sarah begins to slip as her gloved hand slides slowly out of the leather and she falls to her death.
 
Trust can be difficult to establish and even when it is we can often find that it is misplaced. Recently, a situation has arisen in our business where someone we are dealing with, and trust, has proposed something that is causing us to question that trust and impacting unhelpfully on the relationship. Maintaining established trust can be as difficult as establishing it in the first place.
 
The world offers its own suggestions as to where we should place our trust and it is very easy for us to fall into its trap. Trusting in money, property, our careers and status, and even what may be our current state of rude health can be attractive, but all these things can disappear overnight and none can ultimately satisfy us as they are all temporary.
 
The book of Proverbs offers an alternative, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.” (Prov 3:5&6).
 
The Bible is littered with those who put their trust in God alone and were rewarded. Daniel trusted God and He closed the mouths of lions. Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were all saved from a fiery furnace. Jacob Trusted God who provided a ram to sacrifice instead of his son Isaac. Noah Trusted God to save him from a great flood, and Joshua trusted God to grant him success and help him lead the Israelites after Moses died.
 
There are, of course, many more examples of people trusting God for a whole host of things. Those who have chosen God over short-lived worldly promises know that is leads to happier lives. Psalm 37 says, “Trust in the Lord and do good…………..Seek your happiness in the Lord and He will give you your heart’s desires”.
 
There is a wonderful picture of those who chose to trust and follow God’s ways for their lives in Psalm 1, “………..They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do no dry up. They succeed in everything they do”.
 
What are you trusting God for right now?
 
Prayer: Lord, thank you that we can trust you with absolutely everything.