Trust - The Search Continues

Well, my scripture chain/search continues. If you don't know what I am talking about you can go here. Let's dive in.

Isaiah 47:10 - For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.

Interesting, here they have trusted in wickedness and it has given them a false sense of security. Because of where their trust is placed, they think nobody can see their wicked actions. It makes me think of the Gadianton Robbers, where they placed their trust in each other (to an extent) and in their oaths and covenants (to a greater extent). Putting my trust in this of Satan's will lead to my destruction, whether sooner or later. Instead, I need to trust in  or rely on, the Lord for strength.

Jeremiah 7:8 - Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Sadly, I have been there. It may seem counter-intuitive to trust in lies, but I have done it. I knew that my addiction was not bringing me happiness, but yet I chose to pursue it anyway. I chose to find my relief there. Because of those choices, I have also been the one to lie. This makes it hard for my wife to trust me. Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice? Well, I have definitely burned her more than twice. Thus, she has a hard time just saying the words and automagically trusting me again. It is something we are working toward and we are making progress, but it is a long road.

Heavenly Father, on the other hand, is trustworthy. 100%. This makes it easier to trust him. The hard part is having he faith and knowledge to be able to trust him. I think that I am making progress in that area.

Jeremiah 9:4 - Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.

Here the Lord is counseling against trusting those that are untrustworthy. He goes on to name untrustworthy things they are going to do, which is why they are unworthy of trust. I have done untrustworthy things, which is my my wife is having a hard time trusting me. She has also bee given counsel not to trust me, at least when I am slipping into addict mode. At that point, I am unworthy of  her trust, or anybody else's for that matter.

God does not fall into the category of untrustworthy. Ever. He is the same at all times and continually keeps his end of whatever bargain he has agreed to. He also never agrees just to appease somebody, if he knows he cannot do it. He never says things just to make people feel good. He says them because they are true, or he doesn't say it at all.

Matthew 27:43 - He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

In this scripture, Christ is getting mocked for trusting in God. I think that is one of the ways Satan tries to get us not to. He gets our fellow man to mock us, to tell us we are crazy for trusting in (or even believing in) God. That makes us feel like we cannot do so openly. Within the LDS culture, this doesn't happen, at least no openly. Although, I do think it is more acceptable to belittle ourselves and our faith. I do it too. I think it is mistaken for humility. Maybe that is just my perspective though.

As far as trusting God goes, Christ is the best possible example. He trusted in God, no matter what. In fact, even to the point where he gave up his life for him. I hope that is not required of me, but it is a lesson as well. Trusting in God will not always get me what I think it will. I think trust in general works that way. In order to trust, I think we need to assume that person has our best interests at heart. That doesn't mean they will always do what I want them to, but they will do what I need them to.

My wife is a pretty good example of this. As I go through recovery, she does not always do what I want her to do, but what she does is because she wants the best for me. As a parent, I try to do the same. I try to make my decisions based on what is best for my child, not what they always want (or don't want). Unlike the Lord, I am not perfect at this, but I try. That desire, that motivation, is key in the trust. Although my wife, or I, may make mistakes, where our heart is in the matter can make those more or less acceptable. It can cause them to have more or less of an effect on the amount of trust present in the relationship.