Trust is essential in any relationship. Without it, we really have no basis to relate to one another. It even extends to our relationship with God. The motto our country has chosen and appears on all of our coinage is “In God We Trust.” Do we?

Many people avoid having a relationship with God because of the trust issue. They suspect He has ulterior motives and wants to assign them to a life of drudgery and suffering. The prophet Jonah had such thoughts when God spoke to him and sent him to Nineveh. Jonah proceeded in the opposite direction and was afforded a three-night stay in the belly of a great fish. After re-emerging into daylight once again, he headed to Nineveh and did what God had asked. Simple obedience would have saved him the side trip.

There is a wonderful verse of scripture that reveals the disposition of God toward us and what He would lead and guide us to were we to but follow His will for our lives:

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

There it is, God’s will for you. That is what is in His mind when He gently leads us into compliance to His will for us. Think of it, if God was malevolent instead of benevolent, He would force us to comply and suffer the indignities of His will. Instead, He is patient with us, the Bible calls it “longsuffering,” waiting for us to trust Him and accept His plan for us to experience peace, a future and hope.

Now we can choose the side trips of spending our time in the belly of a great fish if we want, but would it not be better to see if trusting God would turn out better for us? I think so.

In trusting God and His will for our lives, we will find someone who will “never leave us or forsake us”, who has our best interests in His mind and who is patient and kind to us, even when we fail. As soon as we reach out to Him, He is there for us, forever.

Rev. Stephen S. Brown pastors at Kenai New Life Assembly of God, 209 Princess St. in Kenai.