Trust Us
Years ago, I had this great idea of creating a "restaurant" for my family at home and made a meal for them. A case could be made that I was most ambitious around 3rd-4th grade, but that's another story. While the restaurant was a one-off deal, it did make a comeback years later when my youngest cousins visited. My siblings and I took it up a notch this time, making it fancier -- and even performing "Be Our Guest". Between both examples, the most memorable part may have been the restaurant name, one that my sister came up with: Trust Us.
While "Trust Us" would be a horrible name for a restaurant in real-life, a case could be made that every time a person goes out to eat that they are living out "Trust Us". They are trusting that the restaurant will provide them a nice meal (or at the very least a meal that won't make them sick). When that trust gets violated, said restaurant can lose a customer. Come to think of it, maybe "Trust Us" isn't such a bad restaurant name after all. It's like the Krusty Krab's motto "Come Spend Your Money Here" -- it's forthright and honest.
Restaurant-talk aside, someone is either seeking our trust or we're putting our trust in someone or something. Politicians may be asking for one's vote, but they are ultimately asking for one's trust that they are the best candidate for office. Children seek their parents' trust so that they will have more freedom and autonomy as they get older. When we get on a bus or in an Uber, we're trusting the drive to get us to our bus stop/destination. Likewise, when we board a plane, we put our trust in the airline and the pilots that they will get us to our destination safely.
All of this is to say that trust is everywhere - even in Disney movies! There are multiple times where Aladdin asks Princess Jasmine if she trusts him or tells her that she needs to trust him. In The Jungle Book, Kaa sings a song to Mowgli called "Trust In Me," where he attempts to hypnotize Mowgli into trusting him. Mowgli, of course, knows better than to trust a snake. Jasmine trusted Aladdin and Mowgli didn't trust a snake, but what about us? In whom do we trust?
If one were to look at U.S. currency, one would find the motto of both the U.S. and the state of Florida: "In God We Trust". Now, "In God We Trust" makes for a great motto and source of advice, but what does that actually look like? Trust is sometimes a matter of lip service - we'll say that we trust God, we trust our parents, or we trust our friends...but the way we live our lives suggests otherwise. To trust means letting go and recognizing that we aren't the ones in control. This is something that I've struggled with in my life a lot. I'll say that I trust in God...but then live as though I don't trust Him and attempt to take matters into my own hands. It's hard to let go of control. It means putting aside our pride and belief that we know what's best for us.
For me, another reason why trusting in God can be hard for me at times is because God's timeline rarely matches up with mine. When I'm going through a tough time, I try to get through it as fast as I can so that I can get back to the good times. This naturally leads to heightened frustrations when I think I'm in the clear...only to realize that I'm not and that things may be worse than I realized. It's also tougher to trust in God when we want something now but keep getting told "No" or "Not yet". In a way, it's like the classic child asking "are we there yet" on a road trip...and then asking it two minutes later. It's a lot easier to trust in God when things are going well than when things are going poorly or not where we want them to be. That's also why it's so important to remind myself that I need God just as much on my best days as I do on my worst days.
Over the past week or so, I've found the word "trust" repeatedly coming up in my life - both through sermons and personal reflections. There are hopes, dreams, and desires in my life that I can see, but can't attain right now. It's all a convicting reminder that my trust needs to be in God and His plans for me, not my own. That's the only way that I'll ever be content in Him. I've also run into instances where I've told myself everything will work itself out - and not because I took matters into my own hands. Now, this doesn't mean that I should let opportunities pass me by and stay idle, but it does mean that trusting in God, not myself, is the best way to go. It's the only way I'll truly be content and happy.
A few weeks ago, I was studying some of the Psalms written by the sons of Korah. Korah was interesting figure - he challenged Moses' authority as the leader of the Israelites and led a rebellion against him. This rebellion failed miserably and resulted in Korah getting swallowed up by the ground (Numbers 16). If Korah had truly trusted in God, he never would have rebelled against Him. Korah's rebellion was about rejecting and not trusting Moses - it was about rejecting and not trusting God. Flash forward years later, and Korah's descendants have a completely different perspective. In Psalm 44, the sons of Korah write about being in a state of distress and fear. In the midst of this distress, they remember what God had done and how He had provided for their ancestors, such as leading them out of slavery and later leading them to the Promised Land. With that, they placed their trust in the Lord. They believed in God's power and goodness, even when they were in a state of distress.
The root of our confidence comes from what we place our trust in. That can be good or bad for us, depending on what that trust is placed in. If that ultimate trust is placed in anything other than God, it will ultimately fail us. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths" (ESV). Truth be told, it's easier said than done to live that out, but we'll be glad that we did.
To close, I'm reminded by a hymn we'd sing in church growing up: "Trust and Obey". The title explains the hymn well, with the chorus hitting it all home: "Trust and obey, for there's no other way/To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey". Trusting and obeying is a good way to live. It's a lot better than taking matters into our own hands - trust me.
While "Trust Us" would be a horrible name for a restaurant in real-life, a case could be made that every time a person goes out to eat that they are living out "Trust Us". They are trusting that the restaurant will provide them a nice meal (or at the very least a meal that won't make them sick). When that trust gets violated, said restaurant can lose a customer. Come to think of it, maybe "Trust Us" isn't such a bad restaurant name after all. It's like the Krusty Krab's motto "Come Spend Your Money Here" -- it's forthright and honest.
Restaurant-talk aside, someone is either seeking our trust or we're putting our trust in someone or something. Politicians may be asking for one's vote, but they are ultimately asking for one's trust that they are the best candidate for office. Children seek their parents' trust so that they will have more freedom and autonomy as they get older. When we get on a bus or in an Uber, we're trusting the drive to get us to our bus stop/destination. Likewise, when we board a plane, we put our trust in the airline and the pilots that they will get us to our destination safely.
All of this is to say that trust is everywhere - even in Disney movies! There are multiple times where Aladdin asks Princess Jasmine if she trusts him or tells her that she needs to trust him. In The Jungle Book, Kaa sings a song to Mowgli called "Trust In Me," where he attempts to hypnotize Mowgli into trusting him. Mowgli, of course, knows better than to trust a snake. Jasmine trusted Aladdin and Mowgli didn't trust a snake, but what about us? In whom do we trust?
If one were to look at U.S. currency, one would find the motto of both the U.S. and the state of Florida: "In God We Trust". Now, "In God We Trust" makes for a great motto and source of advice, but what does that actually look like? Trust is sometimes a matter of lip service - we'll say that we trust God, we trust our parents, or we trust our friends...but the way we live our lives suggests otherwise. To trust means letting go and recognizing that we aren't the ones in control. This is something that I've struggled with in my life a lot. I'll say that I trust in God...but then live as though I don't trust Him and attempt to take matters into my own hands. It's hard to let go of control. It means putting aside our pride and belief that we know what's best for us.
For me, another reason why trusting in God can be hard for me at times is because God's timeline rarely matches up with mine. When I'm going through a tough time, I try to get through it as fast as I can so that I can get back to the good times. This naturally leads to heightened frustrations when I think I'm in the clear...only to realize that I'm not and that things may be worse than I realized. It's also tougher to trust in God when we want something now but keep getting told "No" or "Not yet". In a way, it's like the classic child asking "are we there yet" on a road trip...and then asking it two minutes later. It's a lot easier to trust in God when things are going well than when things are going poorly or not where we want them to be. That's also why it's so important to remind myself that I need God just as much on my best days as I do on my worst days.
Over the past week or so, I've found the word "trust" repeatedly coming up in my life - both through sermons and personal reflections. There are hopes, dreams, and desires in my life that I can see, but can't attain right now. It's all a convicting reminder that my trust needs to be in God and His plans for me, not my own. That's the only way that I'll ever be content in Him. I've also run into instances where I've told myself everything will work itself out - and not because I took matters into my own hands. Now, this doesn't mean that I should let opportunities pass me by and stay idle, but it does mean that trusting in God, not myself, is the best way to go. It's the only way I'll truly be content and happy.
A few weeks ago, I was studying some of the Psalms written by the sons of Korah. Korah was interesting figure - he challenged Moses' authority as the leader of the Israelites and led a rebellion against him. This rebellion failed miserably and resulted in Korah getting swallowed up by the ground (Numbers 16). If Korah had truly trusted in God, he never would have rebelled against Him. Korah's rebellion was about rejecting and not trusting Moses - it was about rejecting and not trusting God. Flash forward years later, and Korah's descendants have a completely different perspective. In Psalm 44, the sons of Korah write about being in a state of distress and fear. In the midst of this distress, they remember what God had done and how He had provided for their ancestors, such as leading them out of slavery and later leading them to the Promised Land. With that, they placed their trust in the Lord. They believed in God's power and goodness, even when they were in a state of distress.
The root of our confidence comes from what we place our trust in. That can be good or bad for us, depending on what that trust is placed in. If that ultimate trust is placed in anything other than God, it will ultimately fail us. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths" (ESV). Truth be told, it's easier said than done to live that out, but we'll be glad that we did.
To close, I'm reminded by a hymn we'd sing in church growing up: "Trust and Obey". The title explains the hymn well, with the chorus hitting it all home: "Trust and obey, for there's no other way/To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey". Trusting and obeying is a good way to live. It's a lot better than taking matters into our own hands - trust me.
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