Do You Trust Me?

Story: Rock climbing w/ the family at Eldorado Canyon.

Intro: Trust is putting all of your eggs in one basket. It’s letting go of the rock wall. It’s jumping out of the airplane. It’s stepping off of your balcony and onto the magic carpet. (Aladdin reference) Trust is taking what was once a belief, thought, or crazy idea, and it’s setting in motion all of your feelings, thoughts, and actions. It requires a level of vulnerability that is uncomfortable at best.

This conversation makes a lot of people nervous. And it’s understandable. Trust requires total vulnerability. Anyone that “Puts their heart out there.” in relationships is making themselves vulnerable to that person and putting their heart in their hands. They are sharing stories that they don’t normally share, they are saying yes to things they don’t normally say yes to, and they are putting their emotions on the line.

Trust is at the center of relationship. You cannot have a relationship without trust. Am I right? Nobody ever says “I don’t trust him, but I love him, so it’s all good.” Nobody would ever say that. Because it just doesn’t make sense. Trust is critical in any healthy relationship.

Now, that doesn’t mean that when you mess up you can’t earn someone’s trust back. People make mistakes all the time and have to come back and apologize. But then you have to take the time necessary to make things right and earn the other person’s trust back.

So therefore, I guess we could conclude that trust can be both a decision and a process.

Others have been burned one too many times and have almost given up on trusting others. Maybe it was due to a traumatic childhood experience, a nasty divorce, a best friend that hurt you deeply…. etc. It could have been anything, but something left you feeling hurt, broken, and isolated.

People will let you down. People will break your heart. But God loves you, He is for you, and He has a wonderful plan for your life. He is not someone that can be trusted some of the time, He can be trusted ALL of the time.

Big Idea: Trust in God is at the center of a relationship with Jesus. And when we are in relationship with Jesus, He will guide and direct our lives.

Passage: Proverbs 3:5-6 (Say it 3x)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

*do not depend on your own understanding.*

Seek his will in all you do,

*and he will show you which path to take.”*

Pray: (Pause 3-5 seconds)

Background:

Breakdown: Proverbs 3:5-6 (Say it 3x)

1. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart;”
2. *“do not depend on your own understanding.”*
3. *“Seek his will in all you do,” (ESV: “In all your ways acknowledge him”)*
   1. *Acknowledge is quite simply ‘know’, which contains not only the idea of acknowledging, but the much richer content of being ‘aware of’, and having ‘fellowship with’.* - Derek Kidner, Proverbs (Tyndale OT Commentaries)
4. *“and he will show you which path to take.”*

Question: Is Jesus someone you can trust?

I can tell you on the authority of God’s Word and my personal testimony that Jesus is absolutely someone you can trust. He loves you and me with an unconditional and radical kind of love. He has never let me down and He never will.

I believe the reason most people have a difficult time trusting God is because of the Jesus they’ve seen in many Christians. If Christians are supposed to be the hands and feet of Jesus, then we have a huge responsibility to show the world the love of Jesus. And we have to be a people that can be trusted.

Don’t look to other people to validate your relationship with God. Lean in to God. Pray to God. Look at God in His word and see for yourself.

Walking Points:

1. Trust Him when you don’t feel like it.
2. Trust Him when it doesn’t make sense.
3. Trust Him when difficult times come.

Let’s pray.