How much should I trust in God?

Most members of the United Church have uttered the words, “In God we trust.” The phrase is central A new creed, one of the creeds of the United Church. But can we really trust God?

Thomas Merton, a 20th-century American Catholic writer and mystic, wrote a prayer in his 1956 book: Thoughts in solitude. Known as “The Merton Prayer,” it begins: “My God, I have no idea where I’m going.” I don’t see the road in front of me. I can’t know for sure where it will end.”

This prayer seems like a good prayer for those of us in church today. We have no idea where we are going. Insights perhaps, but no clear path apparent. There are more questions than answers, more worries than clarity.

Trust is not easy. It requires conscious work. We feel distrust and then become skeptical, even cynical. Why should I trust God when the world is full of injustice? How can I trust God despite the fragility of my life? Do we ever trust God completely?

When we recite A new creed Together, we may need others to say the phrase “We trust in God.” Words don’t always come easy, so we rely on the Body of Christ. Trusting in God may sometimes be a solitary act, but at its core it is a communal attitude. We trust in God together.

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Trusting God takes time, perhaps a lifetime. I’m not sure we ever get it right, but trust is a path, a journey, an attitude that aligns us with God. Through trust we learn to trust. By acting in faith, we learn other dimensions of faith. Trust means turning to the unknown and finding life in that mystery.

We may not have clarity about the future, let alone the present. And yet that doesn’t have to make us immobile. Passivity in the face of uncertainty is antithetical to the gospel. Trust is not idle. In reality, trusting God means we act confidently (Fraud, with; believe Believe). Trust means acting in faith.

As a United Church, we can look back on a long history of acting with trust. Our faith compels us to grow, work, remember and move forward. Our unfolding story shapes our current reality, which calls us to trust with confidence.

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God is still at work in the world. God’s mission has a church, and it is a great privilege to be part of this ongoing revelation. God makes visible ways for us to participate in this mission. The challenge for us is to recognize these paths and trust them.

Can we also imagine that God trusts us? God trusts you and me. God trusts the United Church of Canada and the Body of Christ. God trusts that we will find a way together. In our unity as part of this body, we can dare to trust God because God dares to trust us. God takes enormous risks for the good of the world and entrusts this work to us.

Towards the end of his prayer, Merton writes: “That is why I will always trust you, even when it seems to me that I am lost and in the shadow of death. I will not be afraid, for you are always with me and you will never leave me alone to face my dangers.”

We belong to each other and we have trust in this belonging. God is up to something. How much should I trust in God? Whatever you can offer. The rest is grace.

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The Rev. Keith Reynolds is pastor at Southampton-Mount Hope (Ont.) Pastoral Charge.

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Rev. Keith Reynolds is pastor at Avondale United in Stratford, Ontario. He has been working at L’Arche for 27 years.