Entrust

Entrust

by 

Rocky Fleming

   

en·trust …: to confer a trust on especially - to deliver something in trust to - to commit to another with confidence – Merriam-Webster

Let’s take a look at these aspects of having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  They are: “faith – belief – trust.”  While they should mean the same thing, they may also be seen as a limited perspective of one from the other.  Consider:   Faith:  We can have faith that there is a God, but still not trust Him.  This happens often with a religious mindset (any religion), rather than having an experiential relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  This is simply a faith that there is a God, but not really knowing Him.  It takes more.   Belief:  We can believe all the right theology, in theory, but still not trust God or know Him.  Belief can sometimes be a passive uninvolved faith that can be more about orthodoxy and religious protocol rather than the heart of worship, which is our relationship with God.  Belief can still be uncommitted with trusting God if it is only an acknowledgement without acting on our belief.  It takes more.   Trust:  Now we are getting to the personalization of faith and belief, as we carry those aspects into a deeper reliance on God, and as a result into a deeper relationship with Him.  But we still keep trust in a “belief state” until we take the next step, which is to entrust.  How so?   To entrust something to someone is an act of our will.  It is not passive.  It requires an action.  This is where faith, belief, and trust are lived out.  That is the foundation for my next question: If we say we have faith, and we believe that God will help us, and we trust His heart and ways, but we still carry a load of fear and anxiety, do we really trust Him?  Well yes … on paper … in words … in theory.  But doesn’t the fear and anxiety contradict what we say?  I think so.  I believe that fear and anxiety are symptoms of not believing what we say we believe.  I’ve had a lot of experience with the difference both in my life and others who hold on to a struggle and do not get beyond it.  Although some of you may be in that area of trust but live with anxiety, let’s talk about me. For years I operated in the faith, belief and trust area in my relationship with God, but still carried a ton of fears and anxieties.  Though I said I believed in an outcome that God would provide, I lived with a sense of uncertainty that He would.  The best way to describe it was a sense of dread … that the bad news would arrive anytime.  As I lingered in this state for years, I discovered a truth.  That truth is we try to control the things we fear and those things we fear the most we try to control the most.  This control issue becomes an impossible endeavor for we can never do enough to keep our children safe while driving home at night, to accumulate enough to feel there is no condition that will overcome it, to deal with a job loss and what happens next?  Health issues become a constantly changing challenge as we get older.  Our worries and fears can never overcome the threat or the anxiety we hold on to.  It was in the midst of these agonizing issues that I read the following verse: “Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.  (Psalm 112:6-7 NIV) When I read this passage, I could see that I had the faith, belief and trust but I had not entrusted those things that I feared to the ONE who could and would watch over us.  I was told to not fear any bad news coming at me for He is in control.  I was told to do as Jesus compelled me to do which is to come to Him, get in His yoke with Him, and trust Him by entrusting those things to Him that I feared.  Then peace fell over me and has sustained through the years.  That has become my go-to action when I face challenges that might pull me back into the old man and the old ways. I believe there are many things that are out of our perceived illusion of control these days.  I don’t have to name them, for I’m sure you have your own list.  But it will not be out of God’s control if we will entrust those fears and concerns to Him.  It is a time such as this that we build an altar in our mind and where God stands behind it.  In our prayer we take our fears to Him and put them on the altar in front of Him.  This is where we declare our trust that He will take that which we give to Him, and we prove it by entrusting Him with the outcome.  This is a time that a freedom can be found like many of you have never known.  But it will take an “entrust” to break out of your prison of fear.  This is a battle you want to win.