Trust – Paul Nordman

Our Treasure in Trust

Think about it for a moment: Which of your possessions do you cherish the most? Personally, I have four: a keyring screwdriver that once was my dad’s, a picture of my mother, a sleeve of golf balls given to me by my then eleven-year-old son, and a just-for-fun card from my wife. Oh, and a queen-sized quilt Peggy handstitched. (So, make that five.) The quilt aside, the cumulative monetary value of all these things collectively would not likely exceed $25, but I treasure them more highly than anything else I own, for they speak love in ways my heart well receives.

Overlooked on my list, however—and perhaps yours, as well—is an intangible gift more valuable than anything our senses could perceive: namely, our faith. The apostle Paul tells us faith is “the gift of God,”¹ and his contemporary Peter declared faith to be “of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire.”² “Without faith it is impossible to please God,”³ declares the writer of Hebrews, and conversely, the humble faith of a Roman soldier left the Son of God amazed.⁴ (Think about that for a moment.) With faith as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains⁵ and uproot trees.⁶ It is through faith that we are declared righteous,⁷ and it is by faith that the righteous live.⁸

How vital, such faith! Who can measure its worth? It is our “yes” to God, so precious to Him. Then I must ask myself, is my “belief” in God merely the acceptance of His realness—mental assent from the “safety” of interpersonal distance—or do I follow my belief daily into a loving, trusting, and receiving relationship with the “I AM”?⁹ Is my faith merely “wishing upward,” or is it the complete entrustment of my life and everything in it to the love, wisdom, and power of the eternal God? Does my trust in God’s willingness to act accompany my belief in His ability to do so? It must.

So, this is where I find myself these days: called to trust entirely in the ability and character of God and, thereupon, to the complete entrustment of my wellbeing to Him. Peter calls us to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”¹⁰ Now doesn’t “cast” suggest complete riddance, a tossing off of our cares from us to God who can handle them? And His “care”—doesn’t this speak the character from which God acts and in which we may trust?

God sees more than we see, knows more than we do, loves us more than we love ourselves, and cares for us better than we know how. Then may we speak our love for Him in the way His heart well receives, through the treasure of trust.

Lord God, thank you for the precious gift of faith. May we, in turn, entrust our all to you. Be pleased with your trusting people. In Christ we pray. Amen.

¹ Ephesians 2:8 NIV
² 1 Peter 1:7 NIV
³ Hebrews 11:6 NIV
⁴ Matthew 8:10 NIV
⁵ Matthew 17:20
⁶ Luke 17:6
⁷ Genesis 15:6
⁸ Habakkuk 2:4
⁹ Exodus 3:14
¹⁰ 1 Peter 5:7 NIV

Holding Hands

“Hold my hand, we’re crossing the street,” we say, and a little palm reaches up to be engulfed in our fists grown larger over time. Is there a better feeling in life than a child’s hand clasping ours? Their hope, their security, their trust—these priceless treasures of the heart given over to us through vertically outstretched arms and tightly squeezing fingers. Mindful of the innocent confidence now resting in us, we firm our own grip and proceed carefully, for safety is not found in the hand of the child who trusts us, but in the strength of our own. Of course, children naturally outgrow this phase—“I can do it myself; I don’t need you to help me”—and in small matters like parking lots and city streets we want this for them.

Yet life itself, with all of its challenges, is too big for us. We were created to trust and rely on our adoring Creator, and we never outgrow our need for His outstretched hand. David understood this, celebrating through lyrics of song, “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”¹ Trusting in the love of God, the king clasped the grip that extended first to his: “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.”² And no matter where we go in life, or no matter where life finds us, we can never venture beyond God’s reach: “If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”³

Isn’t it amazing that God is not only willing to take our hand, but eagerly desiring to do so? Our need for Him is far greater than we realize, and His grace greater still. We never outgrow our need for Him, for safety is not found in the hand of the child who trusts God, but in the strength of His own. Reach up today; He is with you, and you can trust Him.

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”⁴—Jesus the Son, to God the Father.

¹ Psalm 37:23-24
² Psalm 63:7-8
³ Psalm 139:9-10
⁴ Luke 23:46