An Irrevocable Trust
IRREVOCABLE seems like a strong word, doesn't it? Especially when we apply it to what we trust to safeguard our lives, our health, our families.
Recently I was thinking more deeply about the nature of trust in God. I knew deep down, of course, that genuine trust is truly irrevocable, but I wondered what made it so. I'm reasonably trusting, but not extraordinarily so. What was it, then, that makes trust in God firm? What's really involved to trust in God?
I then began to see that our trust in God is irrevocable precisely because the holder of our trust is God. This spiritual trust actually describes man's relationship to God. And it is a trust that we not only can't give up--we wouldn't even want to once we understand the effects of trusting God in our lives.
Because God, the divine and infinite Spirit, is the one creator, He makes man in His own image and likeness. Not one legitimate element in man's existence, which is spiritual, escapes God's care and love. There is safety and security in understanding God's relationship to man. And this relationship includes the spiritual trust within which man lives.
This trust is entirely of God's doing. He created it and He is the keeper of it. This is why it is irrevocable. To me, this trust is what the Psalmist's words refer to: "Thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.
Trust isn't a passive or weak state where we lack the initiative to manage our own affairs. On the contrary, trust is a strong term that not only describes our unity with God but also underscores the spiritual demands trusting God places on us. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, speaks insightfully of trust in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. She says, "In Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and English, faith and the words corresponding thereto have these two definitions, trustfulness and trustworthiness. One kind of faith trusts one's welfare to others. Another kind of faith understands divine Love and how to work out one's 'own salvation, with fear and trembling.' She continues, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief!' expresses the helplessness of a blind faith, whereas the injunction, 'Believe . . . and thou shalt be saved!' demands self-reliant trustworthiness, which includes spiritual understanding and confides all to God.
In the deepest sense, confiding all to God means entrusting our innermost aspirations and desires to Him. This demands that we give daily attention to what we are valuing in that day and to the spirit with which we are going about our work. To me, Christ Jesus illustrated perfectly the nature of our spiritual trust in God. His very life stands as the example of that complete trust in God whom he knew so well and loved.
I have felt the effects of such a spiritual trust many times in my life. Perhaps the most meaningful times have been when my children have had illnesses healed through prayer. I remember one time in particular when my daughter woke in pain one night. I got out of bed to go and sit with her.
This time, as I prayed, I found myself wondering: "How can you trust that you are helping when you can't feel what she feels? Then I caught myself. I knew that because God Himself is real and tangible, His love and care are solid and meaning- ful in the lives of His children. My trust was based on my own understanding of God's presence. I had no further questions about trust. And within a few minutes my daughter fell asleep again. When I checked later, she was still asleep. In the morning, she was active
as usual, and she never even mentioned having been ill.
