Trust

This was the topic for the Bible discussion I led last night in the hostel. The challenge of not knowing who would show up, if anyone, was a challenge once again but God provided in cool ways! Benjamin, a staff member, was the ''attender" for the discussion. Each time a discussion is held there is a leader and attender, the attender is there to support the leader - always much appreciated! A new staff member, Lucas (here for a year from Germany), joined as well. Also, Steven the cleaner came and a guest from Germany named Claudia. I began by using the chalk-board (true teacher-style!) to brainstorm ideas of things and people we trust and things and people we don't trust. We spent a little time discussing why it is that we can and cannot trust. Then we opened the Bible to see what it says about trust. There are many passages on this idea - I chose to focus on Jeremiah 17:5-8 because it paints such a strong contrast between the man who trusts in man and the man who trusts in God. We took the time to discuss the idea that God is the only one who we can fully put our trust in, He will never let us down while everything else we may want to put our trust in (yourself, spouse, money, etc) will never be completely trustworthy. We also talked about why it is hard for us to fully trust God even though He has never given us a reason to doubt Him (relying on own strength, forgetting that God is love, etc). A cool thought that came to mind is that we were created to trust in someone; when we are born we must trust that our mom's will feed us because we are completely helpless without her, in the same way we were created to be in a trusting relationship with God! I closed the time with Proverbs 3:5-6, encouraged by the fact that as we trust in God he will straighten our path. I also shared Romans 15:13 which I will now share with you because I think it is beautiful: may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Leading this discussion was encouraging and challenging for me to hear, I think for those in attendance as well. At the start of the discussion Steven looked as me and said in his very direct manner, "How did you know to choose this topic, this is exactly what I needed to hear today". What a blessing, allowing the Word of God to speak is so powerful - in no way did I know that Steven needed these words but God knew! Also, Claudia is not a Christian but I pray that she, in God's timing, would come to understand Jesus' love for her and the possibility to trust fully in Him. For me - trusting in God is easier said then done but that doesn't mean that I would rather trust in the things/people of this world than trust in God. He has and knows my heart and so day by day I want to learn to trust Him more! Is this true for you?!