“I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress, and my deliverer. My God, my strength in whom I will trust: my buckler, and horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psa. 18:1,2).
These words speak of great trust in God. How can we develop such an attitude? Perhaps the secret is in frequent prayer. David says he praised God seven times a day (Psa. 119:165). Other scripture tells us it was common to pray three times a day.
Regular prayer
After attending a study day on “Prayer,” the beauty of it and the depth of it are just now becoming apparent. One of the keys to successful prayer seems to be setting a time for prayer and sticking to it.
Early morning hours are one appropriate time. “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in thy words. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate upon thy promise” (Psa. 119:147,148 RSV). Again in Psalm 63:1-2 David says, “…early will I seek thee…”
My mother set us an example if only we had eyes to see. As children, we got up to get ready for school and she had been awake for hours, reading her Bible. She had found the secret. Only now have I discovered it after nearly 40 years in the Truth.
Trust God, not men
All of us, at one time or another, feel some fear and insecurity. Most of the time, we look to ourselves, our parents or to someone other than God for our protection. This is misplaced trust! David’s trust in God, so evident in the quote from Psalm 18, should give direction to our own hearts.
Trust is a learning process. The more we feel safe and secure in our world, the more trust we seem to place in people and in the institutions around us. The problem with this is that people are not always reliable. Only God is.
We should even be careful of placing trust in our brothers and sisters rather than in God. Our brethren are not always consistent; they sometimes fail. When they do fail, we have a tendency to blame God. It is our misplaced trust that is the culprit, not God and not the brethren. Brethren may try to be trustworthy, but they, too, have feet of clay.
Since trust in people can be shattered so easily, we need to pick a time for prayer so that we can build our trust in God.
People break trust
A respected police officer was talking about trust one time and relayed a story I have not forgotten. He said he had broken his mother’s trust by taking her car, driving it around, putting a dent in it and then lying about ever having taken it. Something had been lost which he felt he had never fully regained.
In looking at our own behavior, have we ever broken someone’s trust? Have we made promises we never intended to keep in the first place? Have we broken them only to wonder now why we are no longer trusted?
Teenagers, have you wondered why your parents find it hard to trust you? Did you break their trust so severely, they can hardly believe you anymore? Dishonesty, reckless driving, and promiscuity are pretty serious breaks in trust!
Consistency is the key
Parents are consistent in working with their children to eliminate fear and develop confidence. Watch a father getting his daughter used to the waves of the sea. He will let her walk in the water but always keep a tight grip on her hands. When a high wave suddenly rushes in, he lifts his daughter up so she is not frightened. If he didn’t do this, his child may never like the water. Allowed only one time to be tumbled over and washed into the waves, she may become frightened of the water for years.
Consistency is also the key in developing trust in God. We need to regularly spend time reflecting upon His promises and His faithfulness to His word.
Bro. Melva Purkis, in his book on Prayer, writes, “Sporadic prayer is not sufficient for the urgent and returning needs of today.” He also commented, “Prayer and evil cannot live together; if one is present, the other must die.”
Sporadic prayer is probably a problem for most of us. Since evil thoughts preclude prayer, we need to clear our mind and find a quiet, peaceful time and place when we can speak to our Father in heaven.
Developing trust in God
Bro. Purkis goes on to write: “Here is wisdom — to begin our day with God in this manner is to begin to live victoriously. We will have the confidence, even before we meet the problems of the day, that everything that will happen, will fit into a pattern for good. We shall begin to know the power and tranquility of the promises: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness’ (Psa. 41:10).”
One dictionary has a powerful definition for “trust” — “The quality or state of being certain, a state of mind or a manner marked by easy coolness and freedom from uncertainty, diffidence, or embarrassment.” Surely all of us want to live in a peaceful, calm manner free from the terror of doubt, skepticism and suspicion and from confusion of mind.
Then, like David, we will say that God is my strength, “God is my rock (a place that cannot be moved), God is my fortress (a shelter) and my deliverer.” And like David we will trust in God as our shield who will protect us from harm, from those who would destroy us. God will temper all our trials to what we are able to bear, for He is our horn of salvation (our means of rallying greater help). He will be our vindicator and our avenger. We need not take matters into our own hands or place our trust in others. We can rely on God to be our high tower (our means of looking abroad to see if there is any trouble approaching). God, as our high tower, is watching for us.
A prayer
I seek that refreshing peace, 0 Lord, that only comes from thee. Free me from disquieting, oppressive thoughts and emotions. As the sun now rises, help me, Lord, to place my confidence in only you. Let me find six more times today to refresh myself in your love. Amen.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One