Why Do I Trust?

Truly God is good to Israel,
To such as are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
My steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the boastful,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain,
And washed my hands in innocence.
For all day long I have been plagued,
And chastened every morning.
If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
When I thought how to understand this,
It was too painful for me--
Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their end.

Thus my heart was grieved,
And I was vexed in my mind.
I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
But it is good for me to draw near to God;

I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That I may declare all Your works.

~Psalm 73:1-3, 13-17, 21-28

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I ended up in this Psalm on Saturday, and it's very much the testimony of my heart on several situations in my life. After God confirmed to me that a few people I'd been praying about really weren't loving one another with His love, He took me to this passage about my own heart. I was convicted and wowed by turns.

He reminded me that He is the one who holds the hearts of all of those I care about, even when they're not seeking Him. He knows their path, the way that they take, every bit as much as He knows mine. It is good for *me* to draw near to Him, regardless of what anyone around me is doing.

I was tracking right along with Him until I got to that last verse.

I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works.

I've heard a lot of people talk about putting their trust in God when they're worried about something. "I know I just need to trust God more." But it strikes me from reading that verse that trust is not the antidote to worry, any more than faith is the answer to getting what I want from God.

Why do I trust God? It's always been an obedience thing in my head. A duty. He says to trust Him, so I need to trust Him. But what if there's actually a reason to trust Him? A reason for me to want to trust Him?

I know that I want to worship Him-- my heart longs to praise Him, even on days that I feel like I can't.

Thinking about it, the times that I most remember worshiping and praising God, though, are the times that I have completely laid my life at His feet and trusted Him as God. From the verse above, it seems to follow that I trust God because I want to declare His works.

That's kind of a cool concept. Not huge, but very cool.