As we live out our lives, one of the things that I have come to believe is foundational to a healthy life is having those people we can trust in life. Many of us spend a lot of time searching for those people that we can truly "be ourselves" around. We want to know that they are safe people, that we can open up to them, and that they won't betray that trust.
Yet, we find ourselves living more and more in a skeptical, jaded world. In a day and age where everyone has the opportunity for a knee-jerk reaction on Facebook or Twitter or on their blogs, it seems that trust isn't seen as highly as it once was. We see how untrustworthy so many are around us, and we cannot help but feel the lack of trust that exists around us. And for many of us, this becomes a personal problem.
What do you do when you don't have someone with whom you can truly trust your life? You want to have someone with whom you can be open and honest, but it's really hard to develop that kind of relationship with someone. Spouses continually are breaking trust, as is evidenced in the divorce rate. Friendships fall apart as gossip enters in, and trust is broken. And even in churches, relationships that are founded in Christ Jesus are torn apart as confidences are betrayed, and as God's people fail to develop trust among one another.
Satan loves distrust. He loves to isolate us with the thought that no one else can understand or be trusted with our precious thoughts and lives. And sadly, he finds an all-too-willing ally in our sinful nature. There is that part of us that wants to use the juicy thoughts or confidences of others as a way to exalt ourselves, or to draw more attention to ourselves. And the more we indulge that sin, the greater the distrust that builds up, and the more difficult the task for the Holy Spirit to bring about Christ's reconciliation.
I don't have any easy answers for distrust. But I do have one thing that I know for sure. Jesus is not bound by our distrust, nor does He find Himself restricted only to those who truly trust. Jesus is beyond our trust or distrust, and can work even in the lack of trust or the presence of distrust. That's because Jesus Himself fully knows who we are, and has overcome both Satan and our sinful nature through His life, death, and resurrection.
That is why we strive to build up trust, and to fight against the things that cause distrust. And then, when reason for distrust enters in, we strive for reconciliation, as Christ has reconciled us to God through His death and resurrection. We strive for confession of sin, and for forgiveness of sin to be granted. When relationships have been torn, we strive to repair those relationships in God-pleasing ways. And in all of these things, we give thanks to God for His gracious gift of forgiveness.
Yet, we find ourselves living more and more in a skeptical, jaded world. In a day and age where everyone has the opportunity for a knee-jerk reaction on Facebook or Twitter or on their blogs, it seems that trust isn't seen as highly as it once was. We see how untrustworthy so many are around us, and we cannot help but feel the lack of trust that exists around us. And for many of us, this becomes a personal problem.
What do you do when you don't have someone with whom you can truly trust your life? You want to have someone with whom you can be open and honest, but it's really hard to develop that kind of relationship with someone. Spouses continually are breaking trust, as is evidenced in the divorce rate. Friendships fall apart as gossip enters in, and trust is broken. And even in churches, relationships that are founded in Christ Jesus are torn apart as confidences are betrayed, and as God's people fail to develop trust among one another.
Satan loves distrust. He loves to isolate us with the thought that no one else can understand or be trusted with our precious thoughts and lives. And sadly, he finds an all-too-willing ally in our sinful nature. There is that part of us that wants to use the juicy thoughts or confidences of others as a way to exalt ourselves, or to draw more attention to ourselves. And the more we indulge that sin, the greater the distrust that builds up, and the more difficult the task for the Holy Spirit to bring about Christ's reconciliation.
I don't have any easy answers for distrust. But I do have one thing that I know for sure. Jesus is not bound by our distrust, nor does He find Himself restricted only to those who truly trust. Jesus is beyond our trust or distrust, and can work even in the lack of trust or the presence of distrust. That's because Jesus Himself fully knows who we are, and has overcome both Satan and our sinful nature through His life, death, and resurrection.
That is why we strive to build up trust, and to fight against the things that cause distrust. And then, when reason for distrust enters in, we strive for reconciliation, as Christ has reconciled us to God through His death and resurrection. We strive for confession of sin, and for forgiveness of sin to be granted. When relationships have been torn, we strive to repair those relationships in God-pleasing ways. And in all of these things, we give thanks to God for His gracious gift of forgiveness.
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