Is Trust Even Possible?

This post was written by TeenPact Student Body Senator Anna Claire Williams from Mississippi

Honestly, I have no idea what it means, and I don’t think that any of us will until we reach Heaven. I have found the concept of being completely trusting in someone or something completely to be very hard.. There is no question that everyone on earth is a sinful creature, and because of that can never be fully trusted. We cannot simply put all of our faith into something or someone. Even the most sincere coaches, most loving parents, or the most caring friends will let us down.

Through some conversation, I discovered that there are many different concepts of trust. Some had the opinion that people are untrustworthy until proven otherwise, and others thought the exact opposite. However, a select few of us (myself!) had the faulty notion that it is really ourselves that we have a problem trusting and not other people. If anyone has ever failed you or betrayed your trust (basically all of us over the age of 10 have experienced this), then you might easily say, “THEY let me down,” or “THEY betrayed me.” But some of us feel that we have let ourselves down. If we have scars from past relationships, then it becomes harder and harder to trust ourselves to trust other people. Whoever it was, YOU trusted yourself to put trust in that other person, and if they let failed you, then it wasn’t actually their fault, it was your own. However, that is such a false way of thinking because then, all of a sudden, we have given ourselves way more power than we will ever have. We will never have the power to know whether or not a person will be completely risk-free. We cannot know their hearts. We cannot know the future. We are not God.

What I have learned is that we can’t just go around not trusting ourselves to trust others because then A) we won’t have any friends, B) other people won’t have any reason to trust us, and C) it ultimately proves that we do not trust God. If we trap ourselves in the  “I-will-never-trust-again” mentality, then how will we ever be able to reflect the gospel? We have a God that is COMPLETELY and FULLY trustworthy. We can’t even contemplate that because all we know are earthly relationships. However, if we did have totally satisfactory relationships on earth, then we wouldn’t need Jesus. Isaiah 51:12 says, “I, even I, am He who comforts you, who are you that you are afraid of man who dies… .That you have forgotten the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. . .”

It is so hard for us to trust ourselves, trust others, and trust God because we will never understand what complete trust looks like until we reach Heaven. The harsh truth is that we cannot place complete trust in this earth, but we have an eternal God that is never failing. I am reminded of how God responded to Job when he questioned His plan, saying, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have an understanding.” Who am I to question His goodness when He brings people across my path? He is GOOD, and He is TRUSTWORTHY, and our mentality and thinking won’t change any of that truth.

Student Body Senator Anna Claire Williams 

The ideas, conventions, and opinions expressed in this article are original to the author. These views are not the stated beliefs held by TeenPact Leadership Schools.  For more information on TeenPact Leadership School’s Vision and Values, please visit https://teenpact.com/vision-values/.