“But the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen and guard you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13 CSB
I love what the Greek word for faithful is: trustworthy, worthy of belief, trust or confidence. Isn’t that refreshing? Someone you can count on completely. Trust is such a precious commodity. It is something earned, not given. The best analogy I have ever heard is comparing it to a bank account. It starts with small deposits, a dollar here a dollar there. Over time it grows and grows, but it only takes one big withdrawal to diminish it back to nothing.
That is why God calls us to store our treasures up in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20). When we put our trust in Jesus, we are investing in Heaven. Nothing can destroy it or steal it. But how do we trust Jesus? What does that look like?
We let people off the hook. We stop expecting them to fulfill our needs and look to Jesus to do it. People will always hurt you, even the ones you love the most. Even the ones who love you the most. It’s not intentional, they don’t mean too, but they will. Because they are imperfect people who have hurts and hang-ups. Some they don’t even know about.
I love the show Grey’s Anatomy. Why, I’m not quite sure. I find it’s long running success fascinating. On the most recent episode, they had a storyline where one of the main characters finally realizes he’s afraid of joy. Through therapy, he uncovers the hurt he experienced the day his father died when he was 10. He was on his way home to share wonderful news about winning a contest, but before he shares it his Mom tells him his Dad has died. As a result, he never wants to experience joy again because if he does, something bad will happen.
He didn’t know an incident from childhood was causing him to sabotage his relationships as an adult. If we dig deep enough, we all have stuff in the past that is affecting us today. It will cause us to hurt others unintentionally. It will cause us to withdraw from the accounts of trust we have built up with others or vice versa. But when we place our trust with God, and take it off of people, we won’t be disappointed. God doesn’t have hurts from the past He’s overcoming. God just has grace and love He wants to share with you. But first we have to realize, He is trustworthy. He is faithful. He is always there.
