Well, it’s been 3 months since Mochi came to live with us. She is still skittish, but slowly she is adapting to her new home and her new family. I hear her purring every now and then, and she doesn’t run away when I walk by. Now she actually glances upward as if to say she is not going to budge one bit as if I were intruding on her domain!
Learning to trust is not coming easy to Mochi, but she is beginning to understand that we are not going to abandon her, hurt her, or abuse her. We love her despite her inability to reciprocate that love at this time. We love her unconditionally, and one day, we hope she’ll be able to trust us completely. If not, we will still love her.
There are many of us who have trouble trusting others, and that sometimes impairs our ability to trust the Lord. When our past experiences have resulted in disappointments, betrayals, and rejection, our brains seem to feed us all sorts of excuses as to why we shouldn’t trust.
The reality is that trusting involves vulnerability. We become vulnerable to the actions of others, and that fear of opening ourselves up to potential rejection, hurt, whatever bad things happened in the past, keeps us too afraid to trust. Mochi doesn’t trust because she doesn’t want to be hurt again. So I must prove to her that I am trustworthy. I do that with soft words, gentle petting, and of course, meeting her physical needs of shelter and food.
When it comes to God, it’s important to realize that there is no need to fear trusting Him. The truth is we can be vulnerable with God without fear of abandonment, rejection, or betrayal. Choosing to trust Him is a huge step of many of us. It takes faith… sometimes faith that we don’t even know we have… to accept God at His Word. However, one must remember that God has proved Himself over and over in the Bible.
Jeremiah 31:3 reminds us that God loves us more than we could ever imagine. “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” This love doesn’t depend on what we do with God; He loves us unconditionally forever! When God says He loves us with an everlasting love, we can believe that without any reservation because God never lies as Titus 1:2 records, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began…” He is faithful to His Word. He has shown it again and again in the pages of Scripture.
The most important Biblical truth of God’s unending love for us is manifested in His Son, Jesus, whom He sent to be our Saviour. God sacrificed “His only begotten Son” (John 3:16) to provide a way for us to have an eternal relationship with Him! 1 John 4:14 states, “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.”
There are so many other proofs of God’s trustworthiness in the Bible. His track record is spotless! His promises are true! He is so worthy of our trust!
Hard to understand? Yes, it is, but if you are searching for the “One” who will never leave you nor forsake you, never abandon or reject you, and promises to love you forever… you are searching for Jesus.
I can trust Jesus, I can trust Jesus
He never once has failed to meet my needs
He is my strong tow’r, the strength in my weakest hour
I can trust Jesus; He takes care of me
(from “I Can Trust Jesus” by Gerald Crabb)
“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:” – Isaiah 55:6
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Jesus is waiting for you with open arms.