I was standing stiff as a board. “I can do this! All I need to do is remain stiff as I fall gently back into the waiting arms of my trustworthy companions. They will catch me…1, 2…” I am falling; still stiff. Yet, at the last possible fraction of a second – I lose trust and ever so slightly bend at the waist to protect myself from hitting the hard ground. At that moment, I land softly in their waiting arms! “You didn’t trust us!” I had only slightly bent at the waist, but they knew. I couldn’t hide my fear and lack of faith.

We are talking about the trust fall – a child’s game that most of us have played. My heart starts to race, and I sweat bullets thinking about it. My youngest daughter loves it. She will walk up to me and fall back into my arms without warning. She rarely, if ever, breaks down mid-fall. Talk about a lack of trust, it’s hard for me to even participate. “What if I miss and she falls and hits her head?”

I think back to the time when my kids were little. Like many fathers, I would throw them into the air every chance I got – for the most part, they loved it! They trusted their daddy – my wife, on the other hand, she didn’t trust me! Thankfully, she mostly looked the other way and I only dropped a kid one time! But that’s another story for another time.

Perhaps, you can relate to our fears! Maybe you struggle with placing trust in others. When I was a baby believer, I naively thought that every Christian could be trusted. I didn’t want to be like those who say, “You have to EARN my trust!” I wanted to give it! Well, it didn’t take too many years of hurt before I realized that giving my trust to people, even Christian folks, could be rather painful.

These things have made me ponder – “Where should I place my trust?” A better question is, “In Whom should I place my trust?” King David provides that answer in Psalm 40:4 –

How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

This verse is extraordinarily helpful to understand where and how to place trust. David says that we will be blessed or happy when we make Yahweh our trust. According to Scripture, Yahweh alone will never fail us! In Psalm 62, David exclaims, “My hope is from Him, He only is my rock and my salvation! Trust in Him at all times, pour out your heart before Him!”    

Christian, God alone deserves our ultimate trust! Therefore, we must not trust in worldly things – these will inevitably fail us. Money, power, fame, and health are fleeting! People, especially the wicked, will let us down – even our daddies sometimes drop us. We can trust in the Lord because He is in full control of the world and our lives. Romans 8:28 provides great comfort to us when the world and those around us cannot be trusted.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

According to the Apostle Paul, believers who have been called according to God’s purpose can be confident in Him because He is instrumental in causing everything that happens to us to be turned for our good. This confidence comes from the knowledge that God is sovereign over every facet of our lives including our salvation (Rom 8:29-30). As such Paul asks, “Who can bring a charge against God’s elect?” He finishes Romans 8 with a flourish by exclaiming that NOTHING can separate His people from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:39). 

Amazingly, our Lord Jesus demonstrated this type of trust for His Father by enduring the cross. Christ suffered for us as an example to follow in His steps. He committed no sin nor uttered any deceit and while being reviled, did not revile in return; while suffering, uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously (1 Pet 2:21-24).

Do you believe God’s promises? Have you placed your entire trust in His Son, the Lord Jesus? If so, you will not be disappointed by Him. No matter what you face in life – tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. Even when your earthly father drops you or your spouse fails you. Or when the finances are tight or that long-awaited baby doesn’t arrive or arrives as a stillborn. In all these and more, you can entrust yourself to Him and you will be blessed. Even when others let us down, we can fall into the waiting arms of Jesus with our eyes fixed on Him, the author and perfector of our faith! 

Blessings!