Daily Devotions - Monday, November 10

Trusting in God and Others

“Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us.
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
so that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.”
--An old hymn from the Psalms

Sometimes a lot of stuff comes our way and we feel that the steadfast love of God is missing. Trusting in God’s steadfast love is not necessarily easy.

Have you ever been in a group that is working on trust exercises? One activity that facilitators sometimes use is called “Trust Fall”. Here is how it works: One person stands facing away from the rest of the group. The assignment is to fall backwards into the arms of another person or persons in the group. Many people have great difficulty with this exercise. In Mitch Albom’s book, Tuesdays with Morrie, he tells of a time when Morrie asked his class to attempt this exercise. Mitch still remembers when one person was able to trust and fall backwards. The person was caught and it worked fine. Morrie, Mitch’s professor, observed:

“You see, you closed your eyes. That was the difference. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too—even when you’re in the dark. Even when you are falling.” (Page 61)

Ben Keckler
11.10.08