Never fear, only trust and obey

New article tomorrow. In the meantime:

You can't trust the news, the media, the government, the politicians, the tech giants, the corporations, the judicial system, the public schools, etc. This is what the majority of people believe. 

Famous psychologist Robert Plutchik (1927-2006) named the polar opposites of trust and distrust as the basic human emotional condition.

Psalm 118:8 says, "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." Proverbs 3: [5] Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Robert C. Solomon (1942-2007), a renowned American educator and philosopher who authored 40-plus books, had many thoughts about the nature of trust and how he believed “many people are blind to it.”

Solomon observes, in a compilation of quotes from him, “Trust is not bound up with knowledge so much as it is with freedom, the openness to the unknown . . . Trust opens up new and unimagined possibilities . . . True, trust necessarily carries with it uncertainties, but we must force ourselves to think about these uncertainties as possibilities and opportunities, not as liabilities. . . Trust is a skill learned over time so that, like a well-trained athlete, one makes the right moves, usually without much reflection.”

II Samuel 22 says, [31] As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.
[32] For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?
[33] God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.
[34] He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.
[35] He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
[36] Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.
[37] Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.

In the great old hymn from 1891, "My Faith Has Found a Resting Place," author Eliza Hewitt (a Philadelphia teacher who wrote many Christian poems in her convalescence after a boy she disciplined struck her in the back with a heavy slate, giving her a spinal malady that ended her career and made her a shut-in) boasts,

1. My faith has found a resting place,
   Not in device or creed;
   I trust the ever-living One,
   His wounds for me shall plead.
   • Refrain:
     I need no other argument,
     I need no other plea,
     It is enough that Jesus died,
     And that He died for me.
2. Enough for me that Jesus saves,
   This ends my fear and doubt;
   A sinful soul I came to Him,
   He’ll never cast me out.
3. My heart is leaning on the Word,
   The living Word of God,
   Salvation by my Savior’s name,
   Salvation through His blood.

According to a biography on Hewitt, "As an invalid for an extended period, she developed a love of God and the Scriptures, and the hope of sharing with others in written form. She wrote Sunday School literature and children’s poems. She wrote a poem for her pastor during this time entitled 'Winning Souls for Jesus' and it was placed in the corner stone of Tabernacle Presbyterian Church of West Philadelphia. 

"Her condition eventually improved and she was able to return to an active life in Christian ministry. She wrote 'There Is Sunshine in My Soul Today' after getting her body cast off and being allowed a walk in the nearby park, in thankfulness at the joy of being able to get about again. She was very committed to reaching children through Sunday Schools and attended the Methodist Camp meetings in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. She worked with the Methodist District Superintendent’s wife, Emily Wilson, on the hymn poem, 'When We All Get to Heaven.' "

*****

Minister Howard A. Walter (1883-1918) is the author of the hymn, "I Would Be True, For There are Those Who Trust Me." A book on hymn origins reveals, "In July of 1906 Walter was teaching English at Waseda University in Japan. He sent his mother a poem he had written called 'My Creed.' In the poem he expressed the feeling that motivated him as a Christian: 'I would be true, for there are those who trust me.'

"His mother was so impressed with the sincerity of the poem that she submitted it to the editors of Harper's Bazaar, who published it in 1907. Three years later it was seen by Joseph Peek, who saw its possibilities as a hymn. Although a tune was running clearly in his mind, Peek was unfamiliar with the techniques of musical composition and got an organist friend to write it down while he whistled. 'I Would Be True,' one of the outstanding youth songs of all time, is one of the few hymns that mention the word 'laughter' as a Christian attribute."

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A great hymn from 1887, written by John Sammis, is "Trust and Obey." Of the hymn's origins, "The inspiration for this hymn began in 1886 when the composer of the music, Daniel B. Towner, was the music conductor during one of Dwight L. Moody’s renowned revivals. Towner offered the following testimony cited by Moody’s musical partner, Ira D. Sankey, in his biography, My Life and the Story of the Gospel Hymns: 

“Mr. Moody was conducting a series of meetings in Brockton, Massachusetts, and I had the pleasure of singing for him there. One night a young man rose in a testimony meeting and said, ‘I am not quite sure—but I am going to trust, and I am going to obey.’ I just jotted that sentence down and sent it with a little story to the Rev. J. H. Sammis, a Presbyterian minister. He wrote the hymn, and the tune was born.” 

The lyrics are:

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
   What a glory He sheds on our way!
   While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
   And with all who will trust and obey.
   • Refrain:
     Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
     To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
   But His smile quickly drives it away;
   Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
   Can abide while we trust and obey.
3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
   But our toil He doth richly repay;
   Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
   But is blessed if we trust and obey.
4. But we never can prove the delights of His love
   Until all on the altar we lay;
   For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
   Are for them who will trust and obey.
5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
   Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
   What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
   Never fear, only trust and obey.