To Believe or not to Believe? That is the Question.

Call it life experiences or genetics or just plain paranoia; it doesn't really matter the label, the fact remains - I have some serious trust issues. It seems I question every newscaster, radio announcer, statistic, newspaper article - well, you get the picture. Frustration mounts as so many folks seem to really know what's going on, and I'm in the dark because - well, I have serious trust issues. 

Daddy had a saying, and I guess I heard it all my life until it's become part of me. He'd say, "Treat everybody like a crook, and if they're honest, they won't care." You know, Daddy, that makes more sense the older I get. 

I do question things and people far too often, I suppose, and I'm sure that falls into the "judgmental" category -  a pit into which I certainly do not wish to fall. So, what do I do with these questions? this unbelief? this lack of trust?

Some possibilities:

• Examine myself! Am I lacking trust in others because I, myself, have become untrustworthy?
• Examine The Word of God! Does information line up with The Word?
• Examine the source! This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. You see, "the source" is a human being - a man or woman with a past, a worldview tainted or beautified by that past. "The source" may or may not have had a life of ease and abundance; "the source" may have had to scratch and scrape to get a voice and that's why it's filled with bitterness. Ultimately, "the source" has a soul - just like I do... just like you do. He or she may struggle with trust issues as well, and if we met, he or she may "treat me like a crook". Would I care? Hmmm. 

In these musings, truly, it comes down to one thing. There is only One Who is fully trustworthy. Mankind - goodness, as Opie Taylor would say, "We're a mess!" 

In The Word - the Book that has earned my trust, we see folks who were trustworthy, like Joseph. What did he do to get thrown into a pit, then prison and forgotten? Nothing. And what about Job? Whew - what about Job!! "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." Job 1:22 Wow.
But there are some rascals - like Absalom. What about Samson? Jezebel? And Judas Iscariot!! Really? Walking right with Jesus, and betraying Him with a kiss? Wow. What about Rahab the Harlot... choices she made would make her quite untrustworthy. The "rascal" list is pretty long, right? And honestly, if my story were in The Word - you might be shocked; you might never trust me again; you might relate; you might just see what Grace can do. 

So, to believe or not to believe? That is the question. And my conclusion?

"Trust in THE LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge HIM, and HE shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." Proverbs 3:5-8

THE LORD is trustworthy! And the sad thing? I have treated HIM "like a crook" - questioned Him, disobeyed Him, ignored Him, on and on... and He still loved me right back into His trustworthy arms. Truly, He has NEVER failed me. He is the answer to the question. Yes, all my hope is in Him - not in people, not in circumstances, not in this temporal, untrustworthy world.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

To believe or not to believe... Yes, that is the question. Will you believe?