By Natalie Creasy
The idea of trust has always been such a beautiful and remarkable thought to me. Complete confidence and belief in someone or something - no restraint, but just brutal faith in the unknown.
Similarly, the concept of forgiveness has never failed to both perplex and astound me. The notion that in His eyes, I will always be worth more than anything (no matter what I’ve done) is absolutely incredible.
Growing up in the church, I’ve always heard about these topics, but they never really seemed to relate to each other. There are constant reminders to “just trust God with all of your heart, soul and mind” and “to have faith in His plan for your life”. Or to accept God’s “unconditional forgiveness,” demonstrated in His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. All a little cliché, and hearing it for your whole life, it kind of starts to lose some meaning.
I don’t think trust is an easy thing for anyone to do, but I know that I am someone who struggles with giving up control and trusting others. Whether it is as simple as a school project or as big as trusting God with where he is leading me, it is something that I wrestle with often. Internally, I want to have the self-control and humility to rely on God and put my faith in His will, but externally, it is just so hard to do. As humans, we crave a sense of control, but I also feel that we desire a feeling of purpose. The thought that we can have direction over our own lives satisfies this need for power and direction in an unhealthy and misleading way. Now, I definitely cannot say that I have mastered or even fully understand this idea of putting trust into even the Lord himself, but I feel that this one verse has encouraged me in this way so much. Romans 8:26 reads: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Now ok, I will admit that the first time I heard this, I definitely thought this idea of “wordless groans” was super weird haha, but I love the how the verse expresses that even though we don’t even know ourselves, the Lord carries us and knows the deepest needs of our hearts and lives. Seriously, what a comforting and just reassuring thought - that He knows us so intimately, so our faith can be so complete in him. In all honesty, even when I am struggling to trust Him, just reminding myself of this fact - that he truly knows my own heart better than I do is all I need to slow myself down to trust his will.
Forgiveness is something that I’m not sure I will even understand. And as terrible as that sounds, I think it actually is quite a beautiful feeling. I cannot comprehend the idea that there is a Lord who loves me enough to forgive even the worst things that I have done. Not long ago, I heard a podcast about a woman who works with people who are on death row, as a spiritual advisor. One thing she said was that "every human being is worth more than the worst thing they've done." When I heard that I was like WOAH, because I think that so directly resembles Christ's love and forgiveness for us - that there is nothing that could taint that relationship He has for us. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this idea of forgiveness, but I think I've come to realize that I can never understand it. I cannot fathom how God could love humans, love me, so much to grant forgiveness no matter what. Such a boundless type of love - though it seems so far out of my grasp to comprehend how someone could love that deeply. But it is just such a beautiful thing - to know that He loves and forgives endlessly and unconditionally.
Reminding yourself to trust Jesus seems so cliché and like such a stereotype in the church to “always put your trust in God”… but when it comes to things as intimate and raw as forgiveness and the people that we are, I think it can be the only answer. As harsh as this may sound, forgiveness from humans really doesn’t mean anything. Sure, it seems to satisfy the soul and encourage relationships, but the only forgiveness that we should ever value is that of our creator who chooses to love us, despite our flaw-filled being.
It’s difficult to try and wrap your head around how God can forgive time and time again, and this is where forgiveness begins to be taken for granted. It can be easy to feel that you can almost “excuse your sins” because you know you will be forgiven, but this mindset completely ignores the beauty and purity of the forgiveness that Christ offers us. When we get into the habit of mindlessly expecting forgiveness from Christ, it makes the forgiveness that He offers seem meaningless. But instead, we need to trust in forgiveness. Trust that every time we mess up, no matter how big or small, every time we are forgiven completely and every time it is authentic.
As humans, we grant each other forgiveness and cast out “I forgive you” as if it is nothing, but really think about what that means. That you love and value that person enough to excuse the wrong they have done and want to give them the gift of being forgiven. We often say that “it’s fine” in the moment, and walk away revisiting the situation and bringing up others’ mistakes anytime there is a chance - human forgiveness truly does not reflect the free forgiveness of Christ. But now, imagine someone doing this regardless of the mistake you made, how “big” the sin seemed, the number of times you messed up, and them not holding any grudge afterwards - but instead, just loving you.
Forgiveness is a privilege that we receive as Christ-followers - it is a gift. So trust that His forgiveness is enough. You don’t have to do anything to earn it or make it mean something. This is why 2 Corinthians 12:9 says: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
So, although it may sound simple, challenge yourself to trust the forgiveness that you receive from God and remind yourself of the gift that this forgiveness is. As humans, I’m not sure that we can even comprehend this idea but push yourself to meditate on this. And carry this into the relationships you have with those around you: be intentional with those you forgive - truly mean it and trust that the forgiveness you grant is sincere.
Hey there, I’m Natalie! I’m 18 years old and am just getting ready to start my first year of Nursing at Trinity Western University! Most of my free time is spent hiking, just being outside and spending time around family and friends! I have attended Hope City Church my entire life and have had the privilege to serve as both a youth leader and kids ministries volunteer there <3