Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me, for
I find protection in you alone. I entrust my spirit into your
hand. Rescue me, Lord, for you are a
faithful God. Psalm 31:4-5
If there’s one thing about a word
written in sand on a beach, come the next tide, those letters will have given
way to a clean slate. When trust is swept away, the slate is anything
but clean. Whatever relationship is left
when trust has been violated and trampled upon, it will be muddy and tenuous at
best.
The uncertainty of whether trust
can ever be restored is something that must have eaten the inner fabric of
apostle Peter’s stomach lining. In the
early darkness of Friday morning outside Pilate’s house, Peter had denied being
Jesus’ friend and follower; to underscore his trust-breaking lie, he even cursed
that he’d ever known the man. When the
rooster sounded after Peter’s third denial, reminding the apostle Jesus had
known his friend would betray him, Peter disappeared into the darkness weeping bitterly
for his unfaithfulness. He had broken trust
with the best friend, best man he’d ever known.[1]
Knowing our inner nature sometimes
makes it hard to trust. We know what we’re
capable of, and project that unfaithfulness on others. Yet, in today’s Scripture, the Psalmist
offered the spirit of his life, all his hopes, dreams, the calendar for today, and
his labor for tomorrow, into the hand of this unseen God…and then, perhaps,
with the hesitation of a man who knows how fickle men can be, declared God to
be faithful, a loving God of forgiveness, faithfully extending his loving care
to anyone’s penitent heart, despite the nature of a sinful man who didn’t
deserve being forgiven.
Scripture tells us that later,
after the resurrection, when Jesus met his disciples on the beach for
breakfast, Jesus made certain that Peter understood just how resilient the
trust was between them. Jesus asked
Peter three times if Peter really did love him.
It must’ve been agonizing for the fisherman to have to face the memory
of his past betrayal while Jesus was on trial.
And, to do so now, with any meaningful declaration of love for Jesus, had
to feel like a really disingenuous apology.
But Jesus followed the Q&A with an invitation that was an iron-clad,
sealed-with-blood reminder that Jesus would trust Peter; He simply said follow me.[2]
And, history reminds us, Peter did!
For You Today
Whatever trust you may have broken
with God, or with any other human being, the same hand of forgiveness that was
extended to Peter is willing to accept your heart’s repentance; He forgives.
It’s that simple; we repent, and
the assurance of our heart is He trusts us.
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