I am an accomplished investor today
Yet, I didn’t start out proficient
I have made foolish investments
In ventures I should have walked away
From and I have fearfully walked away
From gold mines because of dear prices
I had to pay to unwise decisions
Yet today, here I am accomplished
Not because I know better than the rest
It is because when they misused my asset
I didn’t let shame or regret drive me
Into hiding, I learned my lessons and kept
Sharing. When they deceived and stole
From me, I didn’t let anger turn me bitter
I learned my lessons and kept trading.
I learned times and seasons and characters
I learned to see beyond the obvious, hear
Beneath the hinted and smell the concealed
And that has made all the difference
As I go about sharing and growing
And as I go about learning the more
To share and reel in even more profits.
One of the benefits of trust is growth. Every human would understand that growth comes with challenges because it forces us to get out of comfort zones. The difference from one person to the other is how they approach and embrace growth. Some are scared to death of changes and in the soil of distrust will rather cling to the familiar, resisting attempts that compel one to step out and dare. They prefer safety to risky and in the process miss the benefits of daring the dangerous. They may experience physical growth but in truth, their life is stunted: same from month to month and from year to year. This is not the will of God.
There are those who are reckless and treat everything as such including trust and growth. Everybody is their friend, and every friend is in their inner circle. It is not discrimination to identify the abilities and weakness of each person and relate accordingly in order not to create opportunities for them to break or exploit you, especially if you can. Wisdom guides our hearts not to demand from a relationship, more than it is purposed to deliver. Wisdom discovers the purpose of each and makes the most of it. Every relationship has its purpose and benefits all when we discover and align.
One of the key benefits of trust is rest. Mark a man when he is among his enemies – edgy, vigilant. Watch that same man when he is surrounded by those he trusts. Distrust compels us to live a guarded life – walk with care and caution, you just never know. That is not a problem. Truth be told, there are people that cannot be trusted until proven. However, in the atmosphere of trust, we simply unravel. Like a flower, we open up our hearts and blossom in the position of rest that trust fosters. We grow and flourish, our lives fruitful, and our fruits matured. We are seasoned and settled in trust because we are at our rest position.
From the rest position, nothing is impossible. Faith blossoms and confidence booms. We stretch out without fear and try the impossible because we are not afraid. We are not afraid of being taken advantage of. We are not afraid that we will be laughed at. We are not afraid to fall or to fail because we know we are covered. “Even if I fall, he will pick me up. Though I fail, he will help me find my feet again, that is, if he doesn’t catch me before I hit the ground. At least he will do something, not stand and watch me fall. He won’t let me fall. He won’t watch me fail.”
Rest is refreshing and has the power to restore focus or preserve from distraction. Big deals whittle away when we put them on the table of rest while delicate issues receive due attention. Nothing escapes when we are at rest because then, not only do we have everything in full view, we have the ability, and we stand in the position, to do the needful. In the position of rest, we don’t just do what we want to do. We do what we need to do.
Like my friend Kat Stowe said, “We struggle, not because we doubt, it is because we are afraid.” In the rest position where trust is the pillar, we may doubt but we fear not and so we dare the impossible. We are not doing the impossible to impress those who don’t care: we are surrounded by love and care, don’t forget. We are not daring the impossible to prove any point: rest is home-position and there is no point to prove at home. It is outside that people feel the pressure to prove and earn points. At home, we are cool and we just do what we do and we want to enjoy what we do at home.
We are not daring the impossible because we are reckless, careless about risks. We come from the position of knowing, in the place of rest, and we take steps that defy doubts because we believe. We believe that God is, that God will, that God can, and therefore we can, through Him. We dare because we know that it is not about results, it is about obedience to God, about doing His will, about pleasing Him, about giving our best, about sharing our trust, about enjoying His rest. We do what we can and leave outcomes in His hands.
We don’t struggle to control events or manipulate people to our expectations. We don’t name it and claim it or fall apart when it doesn’t happen as we imagined. We just do what we can, the best we know how, and chill while the world fries itself. No location beats the place of rest and nothing ruffles the rest of trust. I pray that you will find your way through trust and learn to invest it wisely, making the most of every investment. I pray also that you discover and enjoy the rest of trust which God has prepared for those who believe and are willing to dare: the rest that nothing can ever steal or snatch away. Amen.
Glory!