Bible Readings: Hebrews 12:1-13; Psalm 31:21-2421 Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. 22 In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. (Psalm 31:21-24) “… God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. (Hebrews 12:10-13)_____________________________________________________________________ Trusting does not always come easily. To trust that someone always has your best interest in mind is easier to say than to necessarily believe. In fact, we live in a world where truth seems to be elusive and difficult to discern. My father recently had his email account hacked. I received a message from his email address asking for me to contact him about something “important” he needed to discuss with me. Although there were several signs this was a fake email, the one key tip-off was that it was not signed “love, Dad”. Our world makes us suspicious people. And although we do need to be wise and discern truth from falsehoods, I don’t believe that God has called his people to live under an air of suspicion. I believe this because he has called us to be a people, first and foremost, of love. What does that have to do with trust? Well, the Bible tells us that love “rejoices with the truth. It… always trusts …” (from 1 Corinthians 13:6-7). Our natural disposition as God’s children is one of trust, not suspicion. We are not to be a people of conspiracy theories and quick assumptions. But can we really trust people??The truth is that people will sometimes let you down and it can be difficult to discern truth from falsehoods. But we are able to live as a people prone to trust because we ultimately place our trust in God. He is the one who holds our future and has given us the Holy Spirit to “lead us into all truth”. What I love most about Psalm 31 is this verse which says “Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege.” (Psalm 31:21)I love this because there is a level of trust expressed in God’s intentions that is not based on circumstance. It is a die-hard belief that God, out of his love, has only our best interest at heart. “… God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.” Hebrews 12:10In life, our trust of God (our love) may be often tested. Can you look back over your life today and see where God’s signature of love is written into your story? Will you let God lead you, to help you discern truth, and help you learn to trust in His good plan for you, no matter what life throws your way? Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. (Psalm 31:24)Heavenly Father, thank you for the way you have guided me and cared for me throughout my life. I can see your signature of love in so many ways! Increase my faith. Teach me your love and give me a desire to trust and not live under suspicion. Teach me to always discern truth. Amen