Trust...

As a child, trust wasn't such a big deal for me; my naivety allowed me to trust everyone. Over time, of course, I learned that there are people, things, and situations that cannot/should not be trusted. While, that realization is often necessary, it opens the door to doubt.  Mistrust will strip you of your innocence and will have you giving the side eye to everyone who says/shows they can be trusted.  Every relationship requires a certain level of trust and mistrust is a live grenade present in each of them, waiting to be de-pinned and thrown.


For the past few weeks, I've been hearing God ask me the same question: "Shanika, do you trust me?" Of course, my response was the same each time, "YES?" I was confused, though.  I thought I was trusting Him, so why does He keep asking me if I do?  Today, I  finally understood what He had been saying all along. I hadn't been trusting Him at all.

When you trust someone, you have a confidence in them that can't be shaken, you believe in them, you rely on them. All this time, I've been telling God how much I trust Him, but I've been dictating the situations in my life. Trusting God, for me, means accepting things as they are, knowing that He will change things as they need to be changed. How do I look telling God, "I trust you, but I'm going to handle this." That isn't trust at all.  I can't be more confident in myself than I am in God. There are no limits on God (except for the ones we put there, of course) and without Him all the areas of my life are limited.

So today, I realized just how much I'd been limiting God. Thus far, I've allowed Him to reign in the majority of my life situations.  However, there are still a few areas that I've left up to me. Today, I am making the choice to trust Him fully, in EVERY area of my life. I don't need to be in the driver's seat, steering in the direction I deem suitable. I've seen enough dead ends and road blocks. Starting today, I will allow God to do what He does best, take care of me.  Why?  Because, I trust Him and that trust in Him will allow me to trust in others.