An Issue of Trust

I have confidence in you in all things. —2 Corinthians 7:16

If there was ever a church that was a disappointment to Paul it would be the Corinthians.  It failed him numerous times, yet he still trusted them and said, “I have confidence in you in all things.”

Someone who has a problem trusting people has probably been hurt in the past by others. Maybe he has been disappointed numerous times. Therefore, to protect himself from being hurt or disappointed again, he chooses not to trust anyone again. It is easier for him to simply reject people.  He refuses to make himself vulnerable to the possibility of being hurt again.  He builds a wall of protection around himself to shut people out. However, that wall eventually turns into a prison.

A failure to trust another is a really a spiritual problem involving an unforgiving spirit.  Past hurts and let downs have never been fully forgiven.  Consequently, the person finds it very difficult to trust people again.  Forgiveness frees a person to trust again.

I am glad the Lord doesn’t have trust issues.  If anyone had a cause not to trust people, it would be the Lord. Think of how many times He has been hurt by His own people!  What if the Lord treated us the same way as when we let Him down?  What if He refused to forgive us and shut us out of His presence when we fail Him?  We’d be in serious trouble.

The truth is, people will let us down from time to time. It’s a fact of life.  I would rather make myself vulnerable and risk being hurt, than live in a prison of walls of distrust I’ve erected to protect me.  I’d rather forgive people when they’ve failed to live up to my expectations, than to reject their friendship and refuse to trust them again.

Consequently, those with trust issues are lonely people.  What a sorry way to live.

If you have a problem trusting people, you need to start forgiving those who have hurt you or disappointed you in the past and restore that trust. The wall you have built around yourself must come down.  That may take some time because it was built one brick at a time and it must come down the same way.  Start now!