by Jake Wiskerchen

“...let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him...”
Hebrews 10:22

Whether or not you believe in God, the point of the passage is trust, with a full heart. For people who have been wounded in the past (and really, whom among us has not been?), trust can be difficult. Even impossible, some say, and that they cannot possibly ever trust again.

What is trust, exactly?

Like forgiveness, respect, faith, courage, or any other construct, trust is uniquely defined as whatever a person decides. No one can “make you” lose trust because you alone get to decide whether or not you trust. It is binary; either/or, black/white, off/on, yes/no. No such thing exists as “sort of trust” or “trust a lot.” Even though we tend to speak in those terms, they are quite inaccurate.

For example, do you trust your friend “sort of” with your car? Either you hand the keys over or you do not; no in-between exists. Do you trust your significant other to remain faithful? If you get the urge to restrict the people they spend time with when you two are apart, you do not trust. There is no gray area.

In the past, we may have been injured because the trust we extended was violated. However, those people in the past have zero bearing on the present relationships because they are unique unto themselves. My ex-girlfriends are simply not my wife, and it serves neither my wife nor I to balk at trusting her “because I have been hurt in the past.”

So, whether it be a God we cannot see with scientific “eyes” or a physical person whom we can actually touch, the issue of trust remains the same: we are the ones who decide, fully. What will you decide?