“Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”
— Genesis 15:6
Because Abram believed the promises God gave to him, God said Abram was a righteous man. To be righteous means to honor God and live your life according to his will. When Abram believed God’s promises, it honored God. God responded by declaring him righteous because of his belief.
Jamie had a hard time believing anyone. She’d heard her older brother declare he never took drugs — then watched him be arrested for drug abuse. Her dad had promised he’d be there forever — just a month before he walked out without an explanation. So when her mom promised one weekend that she’d take Saturday off and go with Jamie to an amusement park, Jamie muttered, “Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.” Her mom was hurt that Jamie didn’t believe her. It didn’t seem fair. She hadn’t done anything to lose Jamie’s confidence or make Jamie distrust her.
Even more so, God deserves our trust for being our all-loving Creator and Giver of good gifts, and he wants us to believe him. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). You don’t just have faith (or trust) by itself. You have faith IN something or someone. The proper and most reliable place to put our faith is in God.
People will let you down. Sometimes it’s on purpose, like when they make promises they don’t intend to keep. Most often, people don’t mean to disappoint you — they’re just imperfect human beings. Put your trust in God instead of people. He will never let you down.
Girl Talk: Which people in your family do you trust? Do you find it hard to keep trusting? Do you have faith that God will never let you down?
God Talk: “Lord, sometimes it is hard for me to trust others. Help me to remember that you can always be trusted and that you will never let me down. Thank you. Amen.”
From Shine On, Girl! by Kristi Holl