“Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine
He’s been my fourth man in the fire, time after time
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
And what He did for me on Calvary is more than enough
I trust in God, my Savior
The one who will never fail
He will never fail.” [1]
Five days a week, early in the morning, I warm up on the treadmill at my local gym—either by myself or with a few fellow early birds. Our conversations are both all over the map and somewhat restricted in light of the wide-ranging political persuasions each of us lean towards. Hot political stories are featured on multiple TV consoles, all delivered from a variety of perspectives.
Newspapers and television anchors used to be highly respected household names: Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, and Barbara Walters. I was the editor of my high school paper with the intention of pursuing additional studies in journalism. We trusted those news anchors to bring us accurate and pivotal stories. Not anymore. With the advent of the Internet, social media, and now AI, we have instant access to the story as it unfolds, which is often delivered from the reporter’s political beliefs and, quite honestly, not always accurate. Leaders on a number of platforms—political, educational, religious, and the entertainment front—are Uriah Heeps, primarily acting in their own interest above the interest of others.[2] Alternative media outlets are reporting documented deception exposed by freelance journalists who have captured evidence of fraud, deception, back-door arrangements, and blatant sins in Hollywood, the government, our healthcare systems, and even our churches. What is the truth? Who can I trust? I have to know the truth before I can honestly post or protest.
With memory loss from the MS lesions on my brain, I cannot even trust myself. My own memory and recollection both constantly fail me, as do my hands at times. Family members battling addiction have eroded my trust in their desperation for the next opportunity to feel good. The sales algorithms generated by the platform I use for selling my artisan jewelry have altered how shoppers find small businesses, causing great frustration in our online chat groups. We have great products; why can’t they get to potential shoppers like they used to?
New cars break down. Appliances fail. Power goes out in snow storms. Spouses forget to follow up on frequently voiced requests. Even church communities fail to uphold their statements of faith. How do we then live without despair?
My constant prayer before the Lord is that truth would uncover every lie, so we can have a firm foundation. Yet, even discovering the absolute truth of a situation or relationship has the potential to shatter trust. Humans can change. Houses, animals, employment, and health can change, but “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13.8 ESV). He alone is my sure foundation. He will never fail.
I come back over and over again to the Scripture I memorized in my elementary Christian school: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3.5 NIV).
Yes, my own understanding has failed me. David sings, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20.7 ESV). My chariots—cars, boats, tractors, or even bikes—can fail, but He cannot. The fearful grip of my own insufficiency to meet demanding needs sends me to David again: “When I am afraid I will put my trust in You” (Psalm 56.3 ESV). I close my meditation with Isaiah, who confidently declares, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord Himself is the Rock eternal” (Isaiah 26.3–4 NIV).
Jesus echoes this imagery in Matthew 7:24-27 in the parable of the wise man who built his house on the firm rock instead of the shifting sand. I am reminded of a deliriously happy husband and wife whose foundation was shattered by the husband’s death. Instantly, everything the wife believed and held dear was gone—fear entered and she lost her peace, her joy, her stability and even purpose for life. Another couple comes to mind in which the husband’s repeated failure to provide and listen destroyed the wife’s faith. As much as I love and trust my husband after twenty-seven years of marriage, he cannot be my foundation, nor I his. My heart and my mind call out to the living God above and beyond my fear, failures, disappointments, hopeless situations, even moments of exquisite joy and momentary bliss.
I want a good life here and have tried to build one brick by brick while being aware that ultimately my hope is in eternity. Jeremiah exclaims, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17.7–8 NIV). I choose to become a fruitful planted tree! I am watered in the Word and bear fruit as a result. Instead of looking around for signs of a drought or depression, I long to be a tree with roots so deep that I am not phased or uprooted by drama, bad reports, disappointments, or even celebrations. I trust in God, my Savior. He will never fail.
Editor’s note: The English Standard Version and the New International Version do not capitalize pronouns referring to God; these have been added by Cultivating editors.
[1] These lyrics come from “Trust God” by Brandon Lake, Chris Brown, Mitch Wong and Steven Furtick on Elevation Worship’s album Can You Imagine.
[2] Charles Dickens, David Copperfield.
The featured image, “Morning Prayer,” is courtesy of Julie Jablonski and is used with her kind permission for Cultivating.
Mary has cherished life-long literary dreams coupled with a passion for ministry, all of which lead her to study English literature and later theology and counseling in seminary. She has been designing artisan jewelry for 15 years. After 14 years of ministry in San Diego she and her husband Mark Miller, along with their teenagers and cat, Lord Peter Wimsey relocated to Charlottesville, VA where they enjoy farm life, raising angus beef, 40+ chickens and a thriving garden. Mary enjoys off-the-wall humor, gardening, cooking, and curling up with anything penned by Dorothy Sayers, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, or Jane Austen. She and her husband Mark serve in ministry with RiverStone Church.
Add a comment
0 Comments