Some people say that faith and trust are the same, but, to me, there is a difference between them, although they speak about the same spiritual principle. I believe that faith is based on our first-hand knowledge of God and understanding of His universal laws. On that other hand, trust is more instinctive. It requires nothing of us. Trust is higher and deeper than hope, and we may say that it lies between hope and strong, mature faith.

Trust is the first impulse of the awakening soul toward God.
Trust is faith in the process on development and unfoldment.

So often, trust has to do with the things that a person does not know and does not understand. Trust gives him/her strength and courage to say, "I do not see how the things will work out, but somehow I will be taken care of". Trust implies deep and true humility.

The truth is, no matter how enlightened we are now, or could be at some point in future, we all have "blind spots" - the things we do not know and do not understand in their fullness. Even Paul, the great seer of the early church, was willing to admit his limitations:

"We know in part, and prophesy in part" (1 Corinthians 13:8).
"Now we see in a mirror dimly" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

In another passage, Paul talked about "the unsearchable riches" of Christ (Ephesians 3:8). Unlike him, some of the modern scholars give me an impression that they searched it all and found it all that is possible to know about God. The underlying desire to explain all, to fit the world into some intellectual scheme, speaks of the lack of trust. When we do not trust the mystery of life, we endeavor to adopt an all-encompassing theory of how life works. When we do not fully trust the mystery of God, we are trying to rely on some sort of systematic theology.

When our idea of God, our image of God, become changeless, we create a graven image.

Let our image of God be alive. Let our concept of God be dynamic, and we will have an assurance of true understanding. Even if we will make mistakes and fail to comprehend, we will trust that His Spirit will lead us into the right way.

If you do not see the light, and it seems that your questions remain unanswered, trust.

Job was one the greatest examples of trust in the Bible. He experienced severe afflictions that he could neither predict, nor explain. When we read his book, it looks like he suffered from the question "why it all happened" more than from grief and physical pain. And yet, in the midst of it all, he trusted God.

"Though he shall slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15, Webster translation).

At the end of the story, his trust was rewarded, and not only he received back all that was lost - he received twice more than he had! The book of Job is not about how difficult life is, and how helpless we are when we are stroked by a tragedy. It speaks about trust - victorious and triumphant.

When our trust is centered on the Father and His love, we know that all things, including those that we do not understand, work together for our good. We enter into His peace and experience joy of His presence. We gain strength to do the things which we are called to do, knowing that their outcome will be good. How will it ever happen? We do not know. Trust is not about knowing with our minds.

(to be continued)