Trust God: Love Self, Love Others, And Ask Questions
Trust me, God knows just what we need when it comes to loving self, loving others, and loving God. Whether we walk with God or run kicking and screaming from God’s way, divine wisdom never fails at teaching us these lessons.
SCHEMING TO GAIN TRUST
At just the right moment, light will shine and not one of our self-focused schemes will end in the way of our best laid plans. Too often we scheme and do not learn the lessons when these actions implode in our lives. Sometimes we choose to learn the hard way when it comes to trusting in the truths of God that rest on our hearts. It is like we are teenagers who avoid listening to the advice of parents simply because it is coming from our parents. However, no matter how we come to trust God, when we find our hearts and minds letting go of self-preservation it is then that healing and wholeness can begin.
Proverbs 12:2, CEB
The Lord Favors good people, but condemns schemers.
Even when there is political dissonance or difference, there is no power that can overcome divine truth for all of us who claim to believe and follow Christ. Consider how in any given moment the righteousness of God is always there, never having left us. “The truth shall set you free” is what Jesus claims for any truly faithful disciple (John 8:32.) So, at whatever moments in time God so decides, God always sheds the light of Christ on us, and we are all the better for it. This love can be tough to receive, like the sudden brightness of the sun in the shade, but it is capable of healing us of the darkness within so long as we choose not to hide from the light.
LOVE SELF
Let’s look back over our lives. Did we love the other without limits and love ourselves along the way? Or did we focus so much on loving others that we put ourselves aside rather than loving ourselves as God does? Beloved, this is people pleasing. I trust that we understand that one major consequence is our own burnout. Instead, let’s train ourselves to see this in action in us such as:
- When we ignore our hunger.
- When we go without sleep.
- When we avoid restful or fun activities.
- When we cause harm to ourselves or others by arriving late for the sake of outside wants.
- When we otherwise forget to put boundaries in place for the purpose of self-love and care.
LOVE OTHERS
Did we love ourselves without limits and love others along the way? Or did we focus so much on our own ways, wants, and expectations that we put the needs of others aside? Beloved, when we set God’s love to the side and act on our will and way this is self-righteousness. Let’s train ourselves to see this in action in us such as:
- When we ignore the hunger of others.
- When we expect another person to sacrifice their rest and renewal for the sake of our priorities.
- When we wrongly encourage others to prioritize work over self-care.
- When we expect others to flow with our schedule and priorities.
- When we assume others will agree with and trust our choices and reasons without question.
Matthew 22:37-40, CEB
37 He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
BUILD TRUST. ASK QUESTIONS.
What if instead of acting in extremes we chose to trust God way and focus on loving others and ourselves as God does? What if we choose to get curious when things aren’t going our way? God recognized that questions and even questioning are part of relationship building. God does not stop loving us because we disagree with the divine truth. Rather, questions are a sign of curiosity, of a desire to gain better understanding, and something that we need to embrace even and especially when our hearts are struck by dissonance, anger, and even despair. Oddly enough, many of us grew up in households where parents, teachers, pastors, bosses, and other authorities should be unquestioningly trusted. So, I understand if this way of being and thinking seems like a stretch. Yet, this is this call for our reflection today. Build trust by asking questions.
Let’s all ask questions of those we love in order to better understand their needs. Ask questions of ourselves to better understand our needs. Ask questions of God to better understand God’s desires for us, others, and our relationships with others. The most beautiful result of all of this is how out of the discomfort of many of the hard questions and the revelations that come with honest answers grows trust in God and God’s people.
I pray that every day we will grow more confident in our trust in God and that others grow to trust God at work within and through each of us.
Author: Linda Furtado
Original Artwork: By Linda Furtado
Linda Furtado is the Director of Spirituality and Arts at Scarritt Bennett Center and leads our Soul Work program. For more information, please email [email protected].