"Trust"

Psalm 62

“Trust”

There’s a story about a guy named Speedy Morris.

Speedy was a basketball coach for LaSalle University.

He was shaving one day when his wife called out to tell him he was wanted on the phone by Sports Illustrated.

Speedy Morris was so excited by the prospect of national recognition that he nicked himself with his razor and ran—with a mixture of blood and shaving cream on his face—down the hall.

He rushed down the stairs so quickly that he slipped on the third to the last step and fell to the floor.

Limping, and in pain he finally got to the phone and the voice on the other end said, “For just a dollar an issue you can get a one year trial subscription…”

The pain of disappointment is something most of us are all too familiar with.

Can you ever remember a time when you were counting on someone to be there for you at some critical moment, but they failed to show up?

Have you ever given your heart to someone, only to have that person break it?

Have you ever shared a secret with a friend, but they gave it away?

Have you ever put your faith in a doctor, financial advisor, or counselor of some other kind only to have their “wisdom” prove disastrous?

Few things are more sacred than trust between people, and few things are more devastating than to have that trust fail.

There can be no doubt that trust is an essential part of life.

In order for us to healthily develop mentally, emotionally and spiritually we need an environment of trust.

How else could we possibly expect to be able to endure hardships with peace, with calm?

A colleague writes, "In 2007, my family's house burned; we lost everything.

As I watched it burn, I heard myself say, 'I've been preparing for this.'

I didn't mean I expected a tragedy, but I had learned to be at peace no matter what happened."

He continues, "I don't know when, like the psalmist, I started to trust in God at all times and without anxiety.

I know it happened gradually, the result of a long-term relationship with the Lord...

...because I remember what the Lord did in the past, I take my rest in the present...

...God has been teaching me to trust."

Has God been teaching you to trust?

God will if you allow Him.

A famous theologian once said, “Fish need water in which to swim, birds need air in which to fly, and we human beings need trust in order to develop our humanity. Trust is the basic element in which human life exists.”

Psalm 62 is basically a “personal testimony.”

Apparently, the psalmist was a victim of persecution and deception by persons who were masquerading as friends.

Have you ever been “stabbed in the back” by someone whom you had considered a friend?

Ever been torn down by a friend?

This is what happened to the psalmist.

In verse 4 the psalmist says, “The only desire of this people is to bring others down low…with their mouths they bless, but inside they are cursing.”

In other words, those who have brought disappointment to this person were fakes or frauds.

They seemed to be one way outwardly, but inwardly they were something else altogether.

The Associated Press ran a news story which caught my attention.

The headline read: “Man Crashes Wearing Fake Seat Belt.”

According to the article, a man in New Zealand just would not put up with the hassle of seatbelts.

He just couldn’t be bothered with them.

The police ticketed him 32 times over a period of 5 years for failing to use his seat beat.

And even though this was costing the guy big money, he still refused to buckle up.

Finally, instead of obeying the man made a fake seat belt that would hang over his shoulder and make it appear as if he was wearing a seat belt when he wasn’t.

His trick worked for a while.

Then, he had a head-on collision.

He was thrown forward onto the steering wheel and killed.

Discussing the accident, the coroner described the fake seat belt: “Though his car was fitted with seat belts, an extra belt with a long strap had been knotted above the seat belt on the driver’s side, providing a belt to simply sit over the driver’s shoulder.”

There can be no doubt that when something is truly tested, that which is fake will fail us!!!

And this is what the writer of Psalm 62 has found.

The psalmist’s life has been a struggle between despair and trust.

How many of us can say the same thing?

He has been let down by persons who have said they were friends.