On Trust – by Donna Wright (Testimony Series

On Trust
by Donna Wright© 2012

It hurts to be afraid to trust… but it hurts worse to have your trust betrayed. 

Betrayal stabs deep, leaving us feeling a perpetual wound. Crushed under a mountain of emotional pain, is often a reality that the abuser has wiped us out physically, left us exhausted mentally, and stripped us financially down to the bone. We look in the mirror and our eyes swell with tears at our own reflection. The stronghold of FAILURE overcomes us, stomping out our self-esteem as our hearts crumble to dust.  All this from a betrayed trust.

With every aspect of our life destroyed, we struggle to understand what happened. Where did it all go wrong?  Barely holding ourselves together, we painfully pick up the shattered pieces of what is left.

With GOOD reason, our ability to trust is damaged to a point that we may never find the comfort to trust again.  Yet, we need to try. Even through it goes against everything our mind tells us. Trust is a God-given gift that the enemy wants to steel from our lives. One thing we know for certain - we can TRUST GOD 100%. He will NEVER betray us or let us down. 

"God is not like people. He tells no lies. He is not like humans. He doesn't change his mind. When he says something, he does it. When he makes a promise, he keeps it." ~Numbers 23:19 (GOD's WORD Translation)

In that, we also know that God created people for fellowship. He longs to bring the security of “trusting” back into your life. He longs to bring you - good, trustworthy relationships and to give you the wisdom to know whom to trust and whom NOT to trust.

If you are struggling with trusting people, you are not alone. There is HOPE to mend your trust, first in God, then with people. Let me encourage you to not allow the pain of betrayal to turn into bitterness. The enemy longs to destroy you, and bitterness only leads to deeper pain.

To begin rebuilding trust, first, search to know God more deeply than you ever have before; through the Bible, prayer, God-centered preaching, and praise. Then, it would be good to find a Godly counselor who will provide a safe place for you to vent and who can help guide you out of this pain.  Finally, step out of the comfort zone and surround yourself with SAFE people by joining a church small group or Bible study that focuses on healing hurts. Once you find these safe places, commit to going regularly whether you feel up to it emotionally or not.

In those moments of growing in God through this agony, ask him to guide your heart OUT of the pain and to bring safe, trustworthy people into your life.  Never give up on healing. Never give up on God.

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." ~Isaiah 40:8 (New International Version)

Donna is a survivor of over two decades of domestic abuse and acts as a mentor and friend to those living in or coming out of abusive situations.  She currently volunteers for Servant’s Heart Christian Ministries’ domestic abuse support page called, “Haven of Hope”.