Perhaps when it really comes down to it most of us don’t really trust many other people – it’s something I’m working on because when we have trust issues it undoubtedly becomes a limiting factor somewhere in our life.
The interesting thing about not trusting others easily or not at all, is that the root cause of our mistrust is often not about whether other people are trustworthy, but rather that we don’t trust ourselves.
People may have let us down, rejected or abandoned us, we’ve experienced hurt, disappointments and perhaps even abuse of some sort at the hands of others. Because of these things we can process our experiences in a way that leads us to believe we are the cause of all the negativity and hurt in our life. We surmise, often incorrectly that there is something wrong with us; we must be making bad decisions, be flawed in some way or other such negative self talk that causes us to doubt ourselves, who we are and whether we can trust ourselves, let alone other people.
One key to remedy to all this negative self talk and mistrust is to begin to back ourselves – to trust who God has made us to be. God says each of us is unique, special and made for a purpose. He’s planted greatness on the inside of us and the ability to grow and develop as a person. We previously may have not made the wisest choices and therefore reaped the consequences, or we could have been mistreated in some way through no fault of our own. However the fact is we are still here! We still have a life to live and God has a plan that far exceeds what we are thinking right now! (Ephesians 3:20)
We can’t alter the past but we can move forward and learn from it. We can change the narrative and determine to be greater than the sum of all our fears, other people’s opinions and the negative voices in our head. We can choose to be more compassionate to others who may be struggling and work on being self aware and taking resposiblity regarding our weaknesses that require strengthening, so that we continue to grow as a person.
I encourage you to start to believe and trust your abilities, what God says about you, what He is able to do in and through you, and who you are becoming today. Choose growth rather than stagnation; forgiveness rather than bitterness, confidence rather than self-doubt and listening to God’s thoughts and opinions about you, instead of the past or your negative self talk.
Back yourself today, (God does) and you will undoubtedly start to increase your capacity. Your world will get bigger; You will get bigger, and your ability to love and trust both yourself, God and others will go to a whole new level.
“Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:6 NLT)
“For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.” (Proverbs 3:26 ESV)
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13 NIV)
“For the Spirit God does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV)
Prayer: Lord please help me to be honest about any trust issues I may have and to look at where I may feel like I can’t trust myself or others because of past hurts or disappointments. I don’t want these negatives to define who I am, my relationships or my future so I ask you to please cleanse my heart, restore my confidence in this area and show me the way forward. I believe good things about myself because that’s what you believe about me. In Jesus name Amen
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
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