Trust Begins Where Certainty Ends

Trust is one of those words we use easily until we're actually required to do it. We trust people. We trust institutions. We trust our instincts. We tell others to trust the process and remind ourselves to trust God. But somewhere along the way we started confusing trust with certainty. They aren't the same thing.

 Certainty says: I know what's going to happen. Trust says: I don't know what's going to happen — but I know who I'm relying on. That's a much more vulnerable position. And honestly, that's exactly the point. Trust only becomes necessary when something remains unknown. If I already know the outcome, I don't need trust. I have information. If I can control every variable, I don't need trust. I have control. Trust begins where those things end. And maybe that's why trusting God can be so difficult. If we're honest, sometimes what we call trust is really just confidence that God will produce the outcome we've already decided would be best. That's not trust. That's a preference with a prayer attached. 

Trusting God isn't believing everything will happen the way we want. It's believing His character remains trustworthy when it doesn't. That's why biblical trust isn't blind. It has an object. We trust because of who God has shown Himself to be — faithful, true, just, merciful, and unchanging. That track record matters. It's the foundation the trust rests on. Human trust works differently. People can prove themselves trustworthy. They can also prove themselves untrustworthy. Trust between people can be earned, damaged, and sometimes rebuilt. And sometimes wisdom requires that it be withheld altogether. That's worth saying clearly — because trust is not the same thing as forgiveness. We can forgive someone without immediately restoring the access they once had. Forgiveness releases a debt. 

Trust determines whether someone can safely carry responsibility again. Those are two separate decisions, and conflating them causes a great deal of unnecessary confusion and pain. Perhaps that's what makes trust so valuable in the first place. Trust gives someone — or Someone — weight in the places where we don't have certainty. It says: I can't see everything from here. But I'm willing to rely on what I know about your character. And when it comes to God, that may be the deepest expression of faith there is. 

Not: I know what You're going to do. 

But: I know who You are. That's enough.

#MeaningMatters