“Let me hear of Your steadfast love in the morning,
for in You I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
for to You I lift up my soul.”
Psalm 143:8
What wondrous news to hear in the morning! Our God’s steadfast love for us. Love that is unwavering. Rock solid through and through. It is from this heart of love that God teaches us the way we should go.
So how do we gain these glad tidings? How do we attain His teaching of the way we should go?
By putting our trust in Him.
There’s much about who He is and what He does to secure our trust. He is perfectly faithful and true. He keeps His promises without fail. He loves us with an everlasting love. He meets our every need. He is completely pure and perfect.
But still…
trusting Him is a choice. The phrase “in you I put my trust” implies a conscious decision. An action of the will. There are times when trust comes easy. But other times, we must choose it.
The psalmist gives us a beautiful image of what that trust looks like:
“…for to You I lift up my soul.”
Imagine yourself on your knees with your head bowed in humility before your Savior. Your eyes are closed in worship. Your arms are extended above your head in a position of offering. And in your open hands lies your very heart, beating strong and sure.
Is there any more vulnerable position? Any more fragile gift? With the blink of His eye or the merest thought, He could crush your heart, and your life with it.
On the other hand, since He’s strong enough to destroy it, that means He’s also strong enough to protect it.
And here’s grace beyond comprehension: He’s good enough…kind enough…loving enough to want to.
How foolish we are to ever revoke our trust from this strong and loving Protector!
Written by Jennifer Clarke
I love your point about the extent of God’s strength. I remember being terrified by passages that depict His violent rage (like Psalm 18.) And yet in a world full of powerful, malevolent forces, that is exactly the kind of God we want on our side, One who will stoop down to hear our cry and then rise up to fight for us.
I think pondering God’s strength is an important part of developing a healthy “fear” of Him…the reverence that springs from our awareness of how great He is and how far we fall short. How beautiful that He chooses to be on our side — and in fact went to great length to secure us to His side!
This is a great post. God holds our hearts in his hand (Proverbs 21:1) and I often think about how he could crush our hearts if he wished. I also think about how fragile hearts are and how loving, soft, and caring God’s hands must be to hold our hearts. I liked when you mentioned God is strong enough to crush our hearts but he is also strong enough to protect our hearts. Great reminder on trust.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, John! What a beautiful verse from Proverbs to include, as well. Thank you!