Finding trust and truth in God.

 

Trust and Truth –

We all feel the weight of our uncertain times. It's an era where we might wake up to news of our hard-earned savings taking a hit or our job being outsourced. It's a time when even the institutions we once trusted seem questionable. We come across articles about fact-checking, which leaves us wondering, “Can I really trust the fact-checker?”

Trust appears to be under siege. Our capacity to have faith seems uncertain as technology marches forward. Truth should reflect reality. It should be a constant. A fact impervious to the whims of the day. Yet, the optics are not good. Our news sources, political leaders, and even those who wear clothing to represent themselves with the divine can fall short of our need for truth.

If you need the truth and ask a behavior scientist, they may tell you it is a difficult concept, but not to worry. We can measure it. We can get to it by combining Correspondence, Coherence, and Pragmatic theories. So, you go home and look up these $100 words, but after digesting them, you feel no closer to “Truth” than when you started. Yet, something inside us tells us that if we can find the truth, we can rely on it. It will be predictable, and then we can trust. 

In the book “Become the Boss of You,” author Ishall Dogood tells readers to ask for honest feedback about themselves. He does not suggest seeking advice from doctors, priests, or lawyers. He suggests a close personal friend who is trustworthy. He suggests finding someone the reader trusts. Someone the reader will listen to. On the subject of trust, the author also reminds us that we will not trust unreliable people. Later, he suggests that we surround ourselves with reliable, trustworthy people. That is very practical advice. There is also some good advice on the concept of truth in the book, but we will handle that in another blog article.     

One of the most inspiring insights from Ishall Dogood is the power of an open mind. He reminds us that an open mind is a gateway to growth and learning, while a closed mind keeps us stagnant. This wisdom can transform our lives, from our relationships to spiritual journeys. By opening our minds during our quiet time with the Divine, we open ourselves to the profound lessons of trust and truth.

While I find the counsel of authors and scientists helpful, I also trust the time-tested method of prayer and meditation to find trust and truth. I go to my prayer room with an open mind. Practicing prayer and meditation leads me to the habit of being with God. I will piggyback on Mr. Dogood’s idea of surrounding ourselves with trustworthy people. However, I  also ask, who can be trusted more than God? 

The practice of prayer and meditation –

Emmet Fox once said, “If you have no time for prayer and meditation, you will have lots of time for sickness and trouble.” My life is a testament to that quote. There were large windows of time when I left my prayer and meditation routine. During those times, I found myself in front of doctors discussing which medications I would be taking to fix myself. I discussed this with a person I saw once every three to six months and had four other patients waiting for their time in four other rooms. It was not what you would call a trusted friendship.  

We live in a very funny age when you consider things in the context of time. For example, if a drug company wants to produce a drug to treat a symptom or human condition, it will undergo phases of trials, which can take about 12 years, sometimes less. After that clinical trial period, the drug company must wait for approval by a government agency. After that, our doctors usually step in line to prescribe it to the masses. We as a society show great faith in a 7, 10, or 15-year trial period? Very often, absolute faith. We act as if it is the undisputed truth, and why not? After all, it was measured.

Now, 12 years is certainly something, but the trial period for the success of prayer and meditation has been documented for almost all recorded history. That is a pretty good trial period. Yet, some discount prayer and meditation as if it is dime-store science. These alleged open-minded and educated minds demean prayer and meditation in the name of consistency of thought. They are afraid to buck the system for fear of not being accepted in their field, even if they secretly feel the consistency is not true. They have fallen into the trap Emerson warned us about in 1841 when he wrote his essay on Self-Reliance.

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adorned by little statesmen and philosophers, and divines.” Emerson

You can build a relationship with God through honest prayer and purposeful meditation. Once you have a relationship with the Almighty, you have a source of truth and a source you know you can trust. Now, that is a trusted friendship.

 

Mathew 6:25-34 –

The answers are not far from us. They are handed to us by the great metaphysics of love in the New Testament in Matthew 6:25-34. Here, Jesus uses nature to teach us to see the truth and to trust God. He notes how the Father gives to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. They do not worry about provisions, nor should we. Jesus tells us that worry will not add a day to our lives, but it will separate us from the Father.

 

Trust in Jesus’s Word –

As we learn to trust Jesus’s teachings, we experience the trust of the Father. We can lose the anxious mindset about worldly concerns and learn to align with God’s abundance. Jesus is clear that God will meet our needs. We must first seek the kingdom, and then all things will be added. You will have trust when you learn to enter God’s kingdom. You will see the truth. You will develop faith.

You will probably have to give up some things as well. You may have to give up anxiety. You may have to without worry. You may have to cut back on distraction.

Mathew 6:25-34 is a good place to start. Jesus tells us to live well. Live properly. He tells us that our focus on true life should come before the focus on our jobs or our food. The focus on our body temple should come before what we wear. Jesus reminds us that the simplicity of nature is more fantastic than the robes of Solomon.

Form a relationship with God in prayer, affirmation, and meditation. Once you have this, you can let the worry go and enter the kingdom. You can let tomorrow go, knowing today has enough for you to do on its own. Jesus warns us to avoid worry and tells us God will provide.

 Conclusion --

In closing, Emmet Fox could not pen his words without seeking God's wisdom, and Emerson could not give us eternal truths without a connection with the divine. These honest men knew that Jesus’s teachings gave us more than rules. They spoke of our possibilities and freedoms when we align with God. These great minds did not receive these wise thoughts from books but rather from they received from God.

We should use all that God has provided. Use technology, all the conveniences, all the art, music, and abundance you can for your growth and a rich full life. Yet, do not become foolish enough to think these trinkets are somehow better, smarter, more truthful, or more trustworthy than the greatest source. A source that dances precisely as it spins our globe on its axis in orbit. A source is so magnificent that it has had this solar system in a clinical trial for over 4-1/2 billion years now, according to the knowledge of our sciences.

I will wake up in the morning and take my medication prescribed by a person in a white lab coat whom I trust. I trust them, and they trust the medicine based on an observation period of ten years. I will forever trust God for that much longer clinical trial of the earth in which we live and the dance of our solar system, which rhythmically continues.

 

Peace, Joe Pikul