Trust is the foundation of all relationships. We build relationships that endure with people that we trust and esteem and love and there is no one we should trust or esteem or love more than Our Holy Lord Jesus Christ.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

At the beginning of my spiritual journey, I kept hearing Jesus say two words in my heart and those two words were “Trust Me.” It was not an order. The voice was not harsh or punitive. It was a gentle invitation from Our Holy Lord to commence down a new path where I would have to question what I really believed in.

It took me time to realize what God was really asking of me. It took time for me to realize that what stood between me and God was pride. I wanted to be “self-confident” and “independent”. I wanted to be “strong” and “successful” and what I didn’t realize at the time was that God Himself was about to challenge my definition of success, along with my definition of who I wanted to be. In fact, God challenged pretty much everything I believed in. Slowly I came to understand that what Jesus wanted was a COMPLETE AND TOTAL SURRENDER to His Love and His Way. I had to abandon my own views of success and start contemplating God’s definition of success and in that process, I had to humble myself and acknowledge my sins. I had to empty myself of my own sense of self-worth and recognize God’s importance in my life and my need for His grace and continuous assistance.

I write about this to try to help those who want to find true purpose and meaning in life. It’s not possible to find that “true purpose” without holding God’s holy hand. We need to trust in Him, learn from Him, hope in Him and be ready to challenge the “conventional wisdom” that society feeds us daily, like for example that “success is all about material wealth”. The world preaches a superficiality that is at the root of many errors. Have you ever heard that on an interview most people make up their minds on a candidate in the first few minutes? How can we truly assess the competencies, motivation and experience of an individual in a few minutes? We judge people by what we see with our eyes without digging deeper. Why? Because we don’t challenge the “conventional wisdom” of society – i.e., the body of beliefs that society at large deems to be true.

“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

My husband told me a true story of an old man who wanted to buy a car for his nephew. He was a farmer and he dressed in a very humble, simple way.  He walked into a very expensive car dealership and was ignored because the salespeople thought he was too poor to afford to buy a luxury car. So, he went across the street to another very expensive car dealership and bought not one car but two cars, one for each of his nephews!

Trusting in Jesus means we have to begin to consider what God deems as important. We need to shed some scales from our eyes so that we can begin to see differently. When we start honouring the dignity of all people regardless of how they look (i.e., irrespective of gender, colour, race, religion, wealth, status etc.) we begin to surrender to the holy way of Jesus.

“He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.” Luke 16:15

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.” Isaiah 55:8

The worst part about “being arrogant” is we often do not realize we are “full of ourselves”. It is a blindness that is only recognized and corrected through the grace of God.

Years ago I worked as a counsellor in a distress centre.  I recall vividly a difficult conversation I had with a man who told me he could no longer be successful due to an illness he had.  His illness prevented him from continuing to climb the career ladder.  I remember praying to Jesus during that call asking Him to give me something meaningful to say and this is what I said:  “I want you to imagine yourself at the end of your life.  You are on your death bed reflecting on what made your life special.  What are you thinking about?”  He said, “Well I think I will be thinking about my relationships with the people I love.”  I then said, “Is there anything preventing you from continuing to build those relationships?”  He said, “No I don’t think so.”  So I said, “Then can you be successful?”  And he said, with a smile in his voice, “Yes I think I can.”

Truly it is our relationships with God and with one another that really matter.  Jesus wants a personal, intimate relationship with each of us.  He wants us to trust Him and to hope in Him.

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

Let us pray:

Holy Lord, thank You for your love!  Please help us to trust in You, to hope in You and to learn to be more like You, humble and kind. Help us to not judge one another by what we see, but to really start listening and appreciating one another and building each other up to be more honourable and merciful and just in Your eyes. Help us to pray for one another and to stop to remember how much You suffered to save us each day at 3pm, the time You died for us on the Cross, as we pray for the salvation of all souls.

Friends of Jesus, may 2026 be a blessed year for you.  Trust and hope in Jesus!  Let Him be the center of your life and know that He will guide you to become more and more like Him, to see like Him and to act like Him.  Happy New Year!