TRUST IS FOUNDATIONAL

Dear Readers,

Last week I was at first shocked, angry and then hurt as I moved through the normal emotions that are associated with a person whose TRUST has been violated. You see, my trust was violated by a person I had considered a "real" friend. I had confided in this person with some personal issues that should have been and had been assured me would remain confidential. I found out "through the grapevine" that this person had shared some of the confidential information with others which put me in a very precarious position.

TRUST is foundational in any relationship whether it be a friendship or marriage. After much thought and prayer I have decided to forgive this person and remain friends, however, I will NOT trust this person with any more sensitive or personal information.

Trust is EARNED not given. I thought this person had earned my trust, but I was mistaken. Does this mean that I should never trust anyone anymore? Absolutely not! I still have one person in particular, besides my wife, with whom I can still share personal information. I'm sure there are others with whom I could share but the trust factor has not been established yet, but as they EARN my trust, I will not be afraid to share with them also.

One of my life verses has been and continues to be Proverbs 3: 5 and 6 which states in the King James Version :

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not unto thine own understanding but in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths."

One thing we can be certain of is that we are all human beings and we will fail. There will be times when we will fail others and others will fail us. That is where the spirit of forgiveness comes in. The Lord's prayers states in two different versions:

"...forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors..." (or) "...forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us..."

You see, GOD will never fail us nor forsake us. We can TRUST him with every aspect of our lives. I find comfort in the truth knowing that when others may fail us and violate our trust..... we can be assured that God will never do such a thing. Yes, we need to learn to always trust the Lord with all our heart and lean not unto our own understanding... this is FOUNDATIONAL in our personal relationship with Christ. After all, if we cannot trust God, then WHO can we trust?

In whom are you putting YOUR trust????