Christmas Themes, Part 2

Editor’s note: This is part 2 in a 3 part series. Read part 1 here.

Trust

As we make our wobbly way towards God’s dream for us, the only door to the future is trust. Trusting is not an act like leaping off a cliff, but faith solidly rooted in past experience. As Pat Livingston says, “It’s impossible to trust God in the abstract or just because we’re told God is trustworthy…We learn to trust God because of our ongoing experiences of God’s goodness.”

We’ve all had blessings slide into our foundering boats like full nets of fish, thrashing and gleaming in the sun. This is the time to remember that God who has been faithful before will be faithful again. No matter what desert or wasteland we face, God enters it with us because of Jesus’ incarnation.

Much troubles us, but much has already been resolved. Look, for instance, at an old “to do” list. It records chores crossed off, projects accomplished, calls returned, questions answered and dilemmas either solved or forgotten. All the prickly question marks eventually bend into a smooth highway for God.

Researchers who study happiness find a close correlation between happiness and trust. If we can engage confidently with our government, church, workplace, school or neighbors, we feel supported, and in turn, able to trust.