It is a real shock to have placed your trust in some special person and then to have that trust broken in some way or another. The usual response to such an event in life is something like asking how that could have happened. I call it the “I trusted you, and you let me down” defense. It is not difficult to see, feel and know the personal trauma in this.

The immediate reaction is to withdraw from all trusting relationships, because it never works to place your trust in anyone anyway—they always let you down! I know you know exactly what I’m saying here because each of us has been there. The ongoing danger is that we refuse to enter a trusting relationship at all—even with our God.

Solomon shares keen wisdom on this in Proverbs 29.25: Fear of man will prove to be a snare. Basically he is declaring that when we place our trust in humanity we always risk a breech of our act of faith. This is true because we are really placing our trust in humanity. And the flesh will let us down more than we care to imagine or remember.

Many people find themselves unable to trust anyone or anything simply because they have been let down so often by so many. Those of us who follow Christ are able to move beyond human failures and with full confidence place our trust in our God. And our God will never let us down, as Solomon concludes: but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. When we once learn to trust our Lord, it is then easier to trust others because even if they fail us, he will keep us safe. TRUST!