PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• Are you trustworthy?
Very few of us are going to say no to that.
But friends, before we begin … have you ever read a book more than once, and find a detail you missed in earlier readings?
Me too.
And none more so than when I read the Holy Bible.
Of course, we know that the Holy Spirit shows us new things as we grow in spiritual maturity.
So that was my morning.
A verse I’ve read before suddenly came alive with a new meaning.
And it broke my heart while it also filled me with joy.
The passage is John 2:23-25, which says, “Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.”
I was uncomfortable with the words, “Jesus didn’t trust them.”
And I had to ask myself, “Does Jesus trust me? Have I given a Him reason to?”
The sad truth is—He has no reason to trust me.
I’ve let Him down.
Jesus knows what’s in my heart, and He knows me better than I know myself.
As that sank in, I realized a couple of things.
First, just because He didn’t trust those people didn’t mean He didn’t love them.
And just because He has no reason to trust me, doesn’t mean He doesn’t love me.
I think we tend to put trust and love in the same bucket and we need to remember they are two separate things.
I love people I don’t trust.
And I trust people who I don’t love as a personal friend or family member.
The second thing I realized, Jesus chose to die for me, but that doesn’t mean He needed me.
It means I needed Him.
My trust in Jesus is far more important than His trust in me.
Third, I have let Jesus down and I know I will let Him down again.
And just as I’ve let Him down (and will do so again), so have you, you, you, and you.
I don’t say that to point fingers, but as imperfect humans, we all fail.
I take comfort in Peter’s story.
He swore up, down, left, and right He would never deny Jesus.
Yet Jesus’ words proved true (Luke 22:34; 54-62).
But even as Peter realized his failure to live up to his promise that he’d never deny Christ, Luke 22:61a says, “At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter.”
While the verse doesn’t specify Jesus’ expression, we know from His character that the look He gave Peter was a look of compassion and sorrow.
It wasn’t judgment.
Jesus knows “all about people.”
And “No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.”
We aren’t worthy of trust.
But He is.
And though we aren’t worthy and though we have let Jesus down, He has never, ever proven untrustworthy to us.
As much as it makes me sad that I’m not worthy of Jesus’ trust, it fills me with hope and joy that He is worthy of mine.
Today, as you pray, let’s praise Jesus for that!
That He alone is trustworthy!
That He never forgets a promise and He never shows up late and He always does what He says!
And pray for forgiveness for all the times you’ve let Him down and thank Him that you know He’ll be there, even when you let Him down again.
Ask Him to help you make choices that are pleasing to Him, and to fight the temptations that would be disappointing to Him.
One Response
Your excellent, insightful post reminded me of one of my all-time favorite promises/truths about God: “…if we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself,” (2 Timothy 2:13). Love you, dear Denise! <3