Saturday, August 30, 2008

A Thought on Trust

We are studying Proverbs and it has been great. I have been struggling with things at work and fear and anxiety have has taken root as I have come to "lean on my own understanding" in these matters. In my own study of Proverbs 3:5 I found the following commentary:


"Trust" and "lean" (v. 5) are very close in meaning. Trusting means to put oneself wholly
at the mercy of another (cf. Jer. 12:5b; Ps. 22:9b). Leaning is not just reclining against
something but relying on it totally for support.

"In the final analysis all government, all economics, all currency and
banking, all institutions and all marriages, all relationships between
people, are fundamentally governed by trust. Without trust, society
deteriorates into paranoia, the feeling that everybody is out to get you."
(Larsen, Paul E. Wise Up and Live. Bible Commentary for Laymen Series. Ventura,
Calif.: Gospel Light Publications, Regal Books, 1974.)

"There are two sides to the matter of trust. There is the decision of trust
and the habit of trust. The first is called 'commitment;' the second is called
'trust.' Trust follows commitment, not always right away, but it begins
there. In the middle of our fears we make a decision to trust. This does not
immediately bring the habit of trust, but if we will muster the courage to
commit our way to God we shall soon learn to trust."

"...deteriorates into paranoia, the feeling that everybody is out to get you." That is where I am. Trust has been lost and is it easily restored. "Once burned twice shy?"

So I am comforted from Proverbs 3:5-6 and Psalms 1. We need to put our trust in the Lord and in Him alone.