Have you ever had a person that you trusted completely? After reading and rereading this psalm, I kept coming back to this phrase in verse 1, "For my soul trusts in You;" I really love the way the words are used to express a trust that is more than the idea of "I trust you." It is not just me that trusts, but my souls, the core and essence of my being, with all pretense and outward masks stripped away. Something deep inside me trusts. For me, this creates an intimacy to that trust. Not just that I believe the information the other person is sharing, but that I trust in their being and how their being interacts with me.
I know that I crave such intimate trust with people, and I think most people do also, but our society breeds so much distrust that it is difficult to achieve that and believe it is possible. In a world where we see relationships fall apart so easily because of betrayal and selfishness, how can we expose our soul to another person and give them ultimate power over us because in giving this most intimate trust comes the ability for that person to cause us the greatest pain and scar us the most. Would you give someone the key the causing you the deepest pain? Do you believe another the other person will flawlessly guard that gift and never cause pain? Are you willing to risk some level of pain in order to have the joy of that intimacy? Maybe you have walked that road before and now bear the scars.
In this psalm, as David faces trials and difficulties, he has found that intimate trust with Go and I believe that in finding that trust with God, I am able to give that trust to others in my life. When I rest secure in the knowledge that God will care for and guard my soul, I can give that intimate trust to another person, knowing that God will cover the minor scars. I believe that the joy that can be found in sharing that intimate trust with God and a few others in my life is worth the risk of pain, but only because I know the steadfastness of God. Whiler I may get scars from the people I choose to give this intimate trust to, I know that that is never true from God.
What saddens me in the world, is when I listen to the others stories and they feel they are scarred by God and this crushes their ability to find intimate trust with others. I think what is saddest for me is that in listening to the story, it is always a person, who claims to be acting in God's name that has broken trust. With an intangible God, it can be difficult to separate God and people who claim to serve and act for God. These two become mixed in our emotions and we end of putting the pain or betrayal we have received from a person onto God. Now God is big enough to bear it and God will still be there waiting for you when you realize that is wasn't God who caused the pain and God will be there to once again share intimate trust with you.
Have you had an experience that has made trust hard for you? Have you felt betrayed by God? If you have, I urge you to revisit those memories and see if it is God, or a person claiming to act in God's name that is at the root of the pain.
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