Back in the Old Days, a hand shake was all that was needed to solidify a contract. In contrast, it takes several pages of legal jargon and scores of sign heres and initial theres for a contract today. Back in the day, people never even considered locking their doors at night. But today, however, it is wise to keep them locked, even in the middle of the day. What has happened to trust? It seems so hard to build trust anymore because of the number of times we get let down. Not only is it hard to trust others anymore, but it is also hard for others to trust us. A promise just isn't what it used to be. How many times have we let others down in the past? I know we are only human, born to make mistakes, but you know as well as I do that once trust is broken, it can be extremely difficult to regain.
How many times would it take of somebody breaking your trust before you simply threw your hands in the air and gave up? How many times of them breaking your heart before you finally decide you were just a fool to trust and believe in them in the first place? I know I have had my share of let-downs. Not only have others betrayed my trust, but I have broken theirs as well. But aren't we lucky that we serve a God who trusts us no matter how many times we sin against Him? If other people did to us only occasionally what we do to Christ daily, we would never trust them again. But our Jesus forgives us no matter what we do or how often we do it, and He even forgives us before we ask Him. What an incredible demonstration of the power of God's Grace! I know that there is a big difference between forgiving somebody and trusting somebody after they have betrayed us. Maybe the forgiving part is easier than the trusting part. But with Christ's help, we can learn to do both. And that's a promise we can "shake" on.
Psalm 103:8 says, "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy."
Father, thank you for forgiving and trusting us when we mess up. Please help us to do the same when others betray us. In Jesus name, Amen.
This hits home for me. Its easier to forgive than to trust but it can be done through forgiveness and the grace of God . It can be done. Again, this is another one of your best devotions . And you touched me with this one ..... again.
ReplyDeleteI am guilty of locking my doors at all times. I grew up in NYC, and we had about 5 locks on our doors! I even lock the door when I walk out to the mailbox.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was recently in NC, my dad laughed at me when I kept locking my car door every time I walked back and forth to the house. Said he hadn't locked his car door in years. Unfathomable to me!
Having grown up when we rarely locked our doors, it's strange sometimes to think that I now keep the door locked almost all the time when I'm home alone. From never locking my car to always locking my car ... makes me sad to realize just how much things have changed. Loved the devotion :)
ReplyDeleteI heard a sermon years ago entitled "Mr. Mess Up". It was about Peter and how many times he had messed up. I identify fully. "Mercy" one of my favorite words.
ReplyDeleteSo thankful for HIS mercy!