Psalm 22:5 “To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.”
If you believe the Dunkin Donuts’ advertisement, you would think America runs on Dunkin. I’m not so sure I agree with their clever slogan, but just about everything runs on something. Even Christianity.
Christianity runs on trustin.’ Everyone who wants to grow in their faith, knows (yet sometimes forgets) that trusting God fuels every aspect of life. Without trust, we have no way of connecting to God. Trust helps us keep that connection even in the depth of our disappointment. In fact, sometimes it’s through the disappointments we encounter that our trust grows strongest.
Trust involves surrender. A.J. Swoboda writes, “Nothing builds trust like facing all your unsolved problems and unresolved struggles by getting down on your knees and not trying to fix them.” I’ve found this to be so true. For it’s when I reach the end of my rope that I find trust waiting right there whispering, What took you so long?
The Psalmist’s trust in God took him from utter despair to hope. He begins Psalm 22 with the desperate words of My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (v.1). Isolated from human comfort, he’s unable to raise himself up from the dust of death (v.15). But then, in the midst of his excruciating pain, he recalls who God is and what he has done in the past. And as he begins to praise God, trust ignites his faith. In the last verse of Psalm 22, he shouts with confidence of how future generations will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it! (v.31).
Friend, we belong to that future generation. And we have opportunity to proclaim and declare his righteousness right smack dab in the thick of our trials. Have you experienced disappointment this season? Me too. But I discovered even pandemics and separation from those I love could not block the Holy Spirit from leading me to a deeper level of trust.
As we look forward to a new year filled with who-knows-what, let’s not forget the One who controls it all. Remember who he is and what he has done in the past. Then, let’s keep runnin’ on trustin.’
The craziness and dread of what may be coming in 2021 leaves us no other option than to trust God. Many people that you trust may let you down and disappoint you, but God will remain steadfast.