The Great Blondin

Charles Blondin was basically the Evel Knievel of his day. But instead of riding motorcycles, he walked tightropes. And in 1859, he decided he was going to tightrope walk across the gorge below Niagara Falls. 

Great idea, right? But he did it! He walked all the way from the American side to the Canadian side, and when he got there, over the thunderous applause he cried, "That's not all!" and turned around and walked back. The crowds watching went wild! When he got back to the American side he bowed and said, "Thank you! Now, who believes I could do it again?" The people cheered loudly. The Great Blondin smiled and asked, "Who believes I could do it again - while pushing this wheelbarrow across with me?" The people cheered even louder! They believed! And then the Great Blondin asked - "Then who wants to get in the wheelbarrow!" and the crowd was suddenly silent. 

It seems clear, then, that there is a very important difference between belief and the sort of faith that would lead us to action. James E. Talmage wrote: 

"Belief ... may consist in a merely intellectual assent, while faith implies such confidence and conviction as will impel to action ... Belief is in a sense passive, an agreement or acceptance only; faith is active and positive, embracing such reliance and confidence as will lead to works. Faith in Christ comprises belief in Him, combined with trust in Him. One cannot have faith without belief; yet he may believe and still lack faith. Faith is vivified, vitalized, living belief." {Articles of Faith, p. 98-99, emphasis added}

In order to have "faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," {Articles of Faith 1:4}, we must not only believe in Him, but also place our trust in Him {Proverbs 3:5}.

trust

Let's start with a personal weakness of mine: I sometimes find it hard to picture God concretely, like as a real person. I know a lot about Him, but it's hard to know Him, especially when I can't see Him. Luckily, I believe He gave us relationships with other people to teach us about Him. So when I'm having trouble imagining God, I think about the people I know personally who sort of embody certain characteristics of Him.

Today, I'm thinking about trust. Trusting God to do what is best for me, and for the people I love. So I’m thinking about the people I know I can really trust. What is it about them that makes them trustworthy? Six main characteristics came to mind:

1. I know them. This might seem like an obvious one, but think about it. I have a basic trust in humanity just because I like to believe that most people are good, but I would never give a stranger the keys to my car. I know all the people I trust very well, and the more I know them them more I know I can trust them.

2. They are consistent. They don't change on me. If they say they'll be there, then they are. They've never not been there for me when I needed them. 

3. They are honest.

4. They are wise and/or knowledgeable. When we were younger, my dad would make up these silly rules for us. Like, don't jump on the banister. He said that he knew it would break because he had done it himself when he was younger. But we ignored the rule. What did Dad know? Turns out... he was right. The banister broke, and we got in trouble. Or what about when Mom said, I think you should do this, or not do that? What does she know. It's not like she was ever a teenager herself. Oh wait. Mom was right too. Maybe I should trust the people who know a little bit more than me about life. :)

5. They have power. You know that trust-fall game, where you fall backwards and trust the person behind you to catch you? I would never play that with a little kid as the catcher. I would crush them. They just don't have the power or ability to catch me. I like to play it with people who are strong enough to support me and hold me up :)

6. They love me. I am absolutely confident in the love that these people have for me, and that above all else allows me to trust them completely.

So then, if God is perfect in every way, I can safely assume that He is perfectly consistent, honest, all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving.  And I can assume that the more I know Him, the better I will be able to trust Him. So, let's learn more about Him and how He is trustworthy :)

What does Absolute Trust look like?

Turn to God first, in everything.

No fear of others, only faith.

When thou art in tribulation, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God and shalt be obedient unto his voice (for the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) He will not forsake thee. {Deut. 4:30-31}

Constant prayer, listening for the will of the Lord.

God is everything. He is enough to satisfy every need. He is my Father, Christ my elder brother. They love me. I can trust them with my self. Who else can satisfy? No one. Peace cannot be found outside of the Father. There is no happiness outside of his plan of happiness. 

Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. {Joel 2:12-13} Turning to the Lord hurts. Only He can heal the hurt. There can be no reservations. Absolute trust.

Turn to no one else for comfort. Nothing else.

Turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, put your trust in Him, and serve Him with all diligence of mind. {Mosiah 7:33} 

Serve him first - before receiving anything. Take a leap of faith. Scary! :)

Unto them that look for him shall he appear. {Heb. 9:28} 

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. {D&C 6:36}

Trust God.

How I know I can trust God: He has never let anyone down ever. Not only is He always there for me, He is always there for everyone. He has never betrayed anyone. I think a fair way to judge people is the way they treat other people. If they talk bad about others to you, or if you know they've been unkind to someone else, chances are it will happen to you, even if you think it never, ever could. God always treats everyone perfectly. He is perfect. There are countless examples of Him being there for people that needed Him, and I know He will be there for me too. It's a predictable pattern of behavior.

Other helpers fail and comforts flee. Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me. Earth's joys grow dim, it's glories pass away. Change and decay in all around I see; O thou who changest not, abide with me. I need thy presence every passing hour. Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be? Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

~Abide With Me

My soul, wait thou only upon the Lord, He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense, I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory, the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times. {Ps. 62:5-8} 

I shouldn't rely on anyone besides God. I can't just place a percentage of my trust in Him but keep some in reserve, "just in case." That's not real trust. God requires nothing more and nothing less than my entire self. my all. my everything. I can't trust in anything besides God. Yes, other people can help me, and I shouldn't be desitrustful of people, but nothing should come between me and God. I have to be 100% invested. A personal, close relationship. Trust in nothing besides God. Logically, this makes sense. It shouldn't be hard to trust my all to an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving God. But it is.

rambling thoughts on trust part 2 :)

Trust is essential to a relationship. If you can't trust a person to tell you the truth or to always be there for you, to treat you right, to love you, to be faithful, to be honest and good - then you really have no relationship. Until you can trust a person to love you completely, you can't be totally open and so you put on a façade and it's not really you in the relationship. You need to be able to trust them to never ever use anything against you or hurt you. Relationships are trusting people with your real self. We can trust God completely to be all of these things, and once we do, we can have a relationship with Him. 

When other sources fail, God is constant. God is constant when nothing else is.

rambling thoughts on the subject of trust

Trust is hard, and it's one of our most precious gifts to give. People might change, or let us down, or break our trust, but the Lord never will. God can always be counted on, He is always there and He will never change or leave us. That's how we can "trust in the Lord with all [our] hearts." {Proverbs 3:5} :)

How can we have faith in something that could change? God will never change. He is perfectly reliable and will never leave us. We can trust Him because He is constant. God is the one constant in life. We can trust Him because He knows us better than we know ourselves, better than anyone else. He made us, He created us, and He knows us perfectly. My life is secure in His hands. He will never change, He will never leave me.

Why would we put our faith in something that could change? Trust God more than anything else. Everything shall pass away, but God's word shall not pass away. {Matthew 24:35} 

The more Christlike I become, the more people can trust me. God is always faithful. If I become more like Him, I will be more trustworthy.

Trust in God above all else. Perfect faith. Trust God more than even yourself. Trust God to give you the strength to make it through. Acknowledge that I can't do it alone, or even with others, if I'm not with God. Everything good comes from God. :)

Put your trust in God - fully invested.

Job 13:15 - "Though He slay me, yet will I trust"

He is the Good Shepherd. He is perfectly loving. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." ~John 10:27

"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord." ~Ps. 20:7

The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants, and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate. ~Ps. 34:22

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man or princes. {Psalms 118:8-9}

Sometimes we put our trust as a nation in our army or our national defense. Wrong.

"I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you to bear you up." ~D&C 84:88

"The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." ~Prov. 29:25

"I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins, nevertheness, I know in whom I have have trusted. My God hath been my support. He hath led me thorough mine afflictions in the wilderness, and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love... he hath confounded mine enemies,... he hath heard my cry." ~2 Ne. 4:18-23

Come what may, I will trust in the Lord.

"God... delivered his servants that trusted in Him." ~Dan. 3:28

"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him." ~Nahum 1:7

I will put my trust in the Lord - I will make an active choice to place my life in His hands and let him guide my actions. My trust is a gift to give Him. The only thing I can give the Lord, really. He gave me my free will, and I can use it to choose His will.

"O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh." ~2 Ne. 4:34

"Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song, he also has become my salvation." ~2 Ne. 22:2

Once I put my trust in the Lord, I should not be afraid, for what is there to be afraid of? God is perfectly in control, always. He is all-powerful and perfectly loving and caring. He's got it. Faith casts out all fear.

The people of Nephi fortified against their enemies with their arms, and with all their might, trusting in the God and rock of their salvation, wherefore, they became conquerors of their enemies. {Jacob 7:25} Trusting in God doesn't mean idly sitting by and expecing God to do all the work. It means work your hardest and trust God to make up the rest and add more to you than you ever could have accomplished yourself. All He asks is that we give Him our all.

God has promised us that if we put our trust in Him we will be supported, lifted, receive mercy and joy, and be victorious. And God cannot lie.

Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils. {Isa. 2:22} Who will I trust? Man, who will die and is mortal, or God, who is perfect and all-powerful and always there?