My Story, Your Glory: 5 Days to Discovering the Journey God Has Planned for YouSample

Day 5: My Trust, Your Glory

My wife bought me a T-shirt to wear as we celebrated the Fourth of July that read, “Fireworks Director: If I run, you run.” I wore it proudly as I risked my life to light our family fireworks show that I’m quite sure was anything but safe.

The truth is, I have no qualifications that make me a trustworthy director of any sort of fireworks show. I’ve been known to burn myself just trying to start up a barbecue grill. I remember the minute I lit the fuse of the biggest firework I had purchased; I began sprinting away from the pending explosion. In my imagination, I looked like an action movie hero, narrowly escaping a fiery blast. But I’m guessing I looked more like a sweaty dad who had no clue what he was doing. Only a fool would blindly trust any so-called wisdom I may try to impart about the inner workings of a Roman candle.

Trust is a deeply important concept. We live with an incredible amount of trust just by getting on planes, taking Ubers and cabs, sending our kids to school each day. Yet the reality is that we also tend to put our trust in unworthy and unqualified sources of wisdom all the time. I scrolled through Instagram one morning and noticed this guy talking about how to turn $5,000 into $500,000 and all I had to do was just follow his advice. I recognized him: just months ago, he was marketing himself as an expert worship leader who could help you write the perfect song and hone your craft as a songwriter. Now, he’s pivoted and become a “financial expert” ready to help you escape the middle class and build wealth.

If you use Google to search the word "trust," you’ll find thousands of articles about its importance. Psychology Today explains it as “a key element of social relationships and a foundation for cooperation. It is critical for romantic relationships, friendships, interactions between strangers, and social groups on a large scale, and a lack of trust in such scenarios can come with serious consequences. Indeed, society as a whole would likely fail to function in the absence of trust.”

So, the question is, “Whom should you trust?” Proverbs 3:5–6 urges us to “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths” (ESV). Scripture makes it clear that the Lord is the only one worthy of our complete trust.

There is a story in the Bible about a guy named Daniel who gets thrown into a lions’ den simply for being a faithful servant—but his trust in God gets him through the night surrounded by hungry lions! That makes me think of how, in daily life, people might catch our attention with a flashy Instagram post, or we might unearth a positive takeaway in someone’s advice. But we must look carefully at the source. In the lions’ dens of life, we wouldn’t lean on a fancy Instagram account with a blue check mark. We wouldn’t hope that a motivational speaker could keep the mouths of the lions closed. We probably wouldn’t bet on the latest popular self-help book to see us through the darkest night.

I don’t know about you, but I’m trusting my story to the one and only miracle-working, grace-giving author and finisher of my faith. I am trusting the God who made me and loves me enough to lead me through life—even in the most hopeless situations. I am trusting the One who is who He says He is and always does what He promises He will do.

If we want our story to bring Him glory, we must begin by trusting Him. I love how author Brennan Manning explains it so beautifully in his book Ruthless Trust: “Trust is our gift back to God, and he finds it so enchanting that Jesus died for love of it.”

Let’s be careful not to mistake the counterfeit voices vying for our trust for the real One who is worthy of it.

CRAFT YOUR STORY

Write about a situation where you had to trust God. What did you learn from that experience about God? Explain what you learned about yourself.

SHARE YOUR STORY

List the reasons that you trust God. Share that list with a friend, accountability partner, small group, or someone you think needs to be encouraged to trust God.