Day 20

Trust in God: Adapted from Psalm 28: 6-9. Blessed is the Lord, because You hear the voice of my supplication. Lord, You are my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in You and I am helped. Therefore my heart exults and with my song I thank You! You are my strength and a saving defense to Your anointed. Please continue to bless the people of Your inheritance and be my shepherd forever. Amen.

What does it mean to trust? What does it mean to trust God?

A friend suggested many years ago that I talk with a “wardrobe consultant.” After I got over being told I was a “frumpy” dresser, I visited with the consultant she suggested. It was actually helpful to have feedback and learn a few good hints on how to present myself. The consultant was quite tactful, and the experience was pleasant. At our last meeting, the consultant had one observation that startled me. She said I was the most trusting client she had ever met, and she asked me why I was so trusting.

I have thought about that many times. My trust probably started with parents who almost always followed through on whatever they promised to do. I truly cannot think of a time when they told me that they would do something, and they left it undone. I am sure there must have been some—no one is prefect—but I cannot recall any. Dr. Denise Hopkins talks about how the psalmist seems to use “prideful human attempts to bribe God to act.” (Journey Through the Psalms. 104) She says that Walter Brueggemann calls this hubris “a kind of parity assumed in the relationship” with God. Hopkins adds, “This kind of parity can be empowering. It maintains implicitly that the psalmist matters to God.” Underneath trusting is the idea that we matter. At age 69, I have come to believe that each person matters. God cares what happens to us. The image of God in each of us is the refection that says: “you matter to me and to God.” Can we treat each person as if he or she matters today? Can we trust that God will help us see that each person matters, and no one is disposable?