“Will you give me a hand?” This simple request has implications…first, you are being asked for help. You have what someone needs (or wants). There is also the implication you are trusted. Trust is a precious commodity. Are you comfortable trusting others? Harder question: Do you trust God?
What is trust? Trust is knowing with confidence you will be treated justly (given what you’ve earned). We trust family, close friends, and spouses, because we have seen them consistently show they care about us. They have proven they will do good for us. If you need something, you are confident they will come through for you. You have faith they will warn you if something bad is coming your way. Now insert God into that understanding of trust: Do you think God will come through for you? Will God protect you from harm? At times, we have a hard time putting full confidence in God. Why?
My opinion: We don’t trust God because we don’t know Him. We may know about God, but we don’t know Him. Perfect confidence in God is knowing God IS goodness itself. He always, always causes only good. This is contrary to many beliefs about God. People question what kind of God would allow the pain and suffering sometimes seen in our world?
I met a young woman this week who said she quit going to church in high school when her dad died. Hurt, she doesn’t see any point in faith. She does not trust God. What about the family whose young child is diagnosed with a crippling disease? The hardworking, loyal employee laid off after 15 years of service and sacrifice? What do you say when your friend tells you their spouse has been unfaithful? How do we make sense of the tragedy of suicide or violence of mass killings? For centuries, some have asked: “Where is your God?”
Knowing God ALWAYS wants what is good is critical to having trust in Him. God, who created the universe, sees and knows everything. He cares not just for the greater good, but for the greatest good. Our all-knowing God may allow what appears to be a loss, for the gain of restoring everything to its fullest state, in consideration of all space and time. He sees all of time and how things will fit together for good.
We also must understand God values our spiritual well-being over our physical well-being and material goods. As Christians, we know this life and everything in it, is temporary. God cares about our physical well-being, but He cares more about our spiritual well-being so that we will be able to return to Him for eternity.
We may get frustrated with God when we do not get what we want. We spend too much of our lives focused on material goods and our physical well-being. We want God to see our hard work, good intentions, and we want what we think we’ve earned. He sees our hard work and good intentions, but he also sees eternity and knows what we need in order to return to Him.
Giving full trust to God with our lives means believing He is all goodness and gives only good to us. If hardship, suffering, or even a tragedy marks our life, we can’t think of it as punishment. God simply does not punish. There will be difficulties in our lives, over which we have no control. There will be times when we need help beyond what this world can offer. We will eventually discover that we are in need of help only God can give. He is calling us back to Him. Are you willing to trust God and say to Him, “Can you give me a hand?” We would be wise to trust in the One who loves us and is all good. He holds our very being in the palm of His hand.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. ~ Isaiah 26:3
Commit your way to the LORD: trust in Him, and He will act. ~ Ps 37:5
The Lord is my strength and my shield: my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. ~ Ps 28:7
Two of my favorite trust prayers: The Litany of Trust and The Surrender Novena. As you pray them, remember God wants only good for us, always.
https://sistersoflife.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Mobile-Litany-of-Trust.pdf
https://www.sign.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Fr-Dolindo-article-novena.pdf
Can’t resist sending “Lean on Me”. The line Just call on me brother, when you need a hand… is perfect for this reflection. We should all lean on Jesus more often!
https://youtu.be/cMPSgFkuQXk
Up next time: Striving to love like God
Disclaimer – I realize how little I know, and how much I need to learn. I’m trying to challenge myself and keep growing.