“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
~ Corrie ten Boom
Relationships are a great joy! And, quite honestly, can also be a great frustration. Relationship issues shroud the soul in sadness or blanket it in fear. This Sunday, God and the beloveds of Israel and Judah are having relationship issues. Trust has been broken. In Jeremiah 31:32 God speaks through the prophet and flatly states: “They broke their covenant with me even though I was their spouse.”
Yet God does not give up hope on a relationship built on trust: “The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah” (Jer. 31: 31). With compassionate love, God looks forward. God looks beyond blame. Trust looks ahead with hope.
The new covenant of trust is a covenant of the heart. The trust goes deeper than rules, agreements or expectations. It is centered and grounded in a deep and true place. One can sense joy in the heart of God in describing the new covenant: “This is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel: I will put my Instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jer. 31:33).
It is not a one-sided relationship. The Psalmist exclaims for the beloveds of Israel and Judah: “Those who know your name trust you because you have not abandoned any who seek you, Lord” (Psl. 9:10).
Indeed, it is a beautiful thing to move from mistrustful isolation to trusting connection.
In our shaky, wavering, and frightening world, who can we trust? Human frailty makes it clear that the only trust not misplaced is trust in our gracious God. Yet trust in God is also the foundation for nourishing trust in our human relationships. As Maya Angelou says, “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.” It is trust in God that builds such courage.
The goal for my message this Sunday from Jeremiah 31: 31-34 is to encourage us to trust God more fully. My prayer for Sunday is that the Spirit will engrave our hearts with trust full-filled.
See You Sunday!
Faithfully,
Rev. Dwayne
