Today’s Reading: Proverbs 3:5-6

According to the dictionary, to trust is to “believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” From the time we are young, we are given lots of different messages about who, or what, to trust: “Trust me,” “Trust your gut,” “Trust God,” “Trust karma,” or “Trust no one.” As I’ve grown older, I’ve found that trust is something I think about fairly regularly – who can I trust and who is it dangerous for me to trust?

Trusting another person can be scary because it means giving up some amount of control (or perhaps recognizing that we haven’t had much control to begin with). It means putting ourselves at risk, because by trusting, we connect ourselves to the other person and in some sense, put ourselves at their mercy. If they fail or betray us, we fail, too – and we may experience negative emotions or consequences. Trusting is a hard thing to do!

Yet as people of faith, this is precisely what we are called to do – to trust, to be vulnerable with one another, and to connect ourselves to others in deep, meaningful ways. This week, we will reflect on trust – trust in God, in one another, and in ourselves. Finally, we will explore how we can be trustworthy. May this week inspire us all to trust anew!

“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” – Stephen R. Covey