Trust Opens the Door to Happiness
What stops us from trusting someone? When we don't believe they are trustworthy. What makes someone untrustworthy? Usually we would say it's because they have broken our trust or have not gained our trust but I think there's more to it. Trust is a choice because we are all untrustworthy as none of us are perfect. The people in your life who bring you the greatest joy will most probably bring you the greatest headache. If your trust is dependant on how someone makes you feel you will never trust anyone.
So what is the purpose of trusting people for then? I believe we desire to find people we can trust enough to be our true selves and still be accepted and valued. We want to be vulnerable enough to expose our trash and know we are still safe and secure. But the problem is we believe that our trash makes us unacceptable so we don't trust others to don't go there. This is called shame.
Shame says I am unworthy in others and Gods eyes, that I am unworthy of their trust. Trust is the key ingredient to relationships and to be in meaningful relationships is the key to happiness in life. Harvard University, renowned for its reputation as one of the best universities in the world, has released one major finding in its $20 million 75 year study on what is happiness. They concluded that good trusting relationships keep us happier and healthier because happiness is found in love. We are all searching for happiness in life right, and if happiness is a by-product of loving relationships, then trusting is key to our happiness.
The problem is none of us are trustworthy and this i believe is why we are such an unhappy group of people. So how does trust open the door to our happiness? We need to find someone who is trustworthy and in my journey I have found God to be completely trustworthy. But I still struggle to trust that he fully accepts me where I am at today and what I've done in my past. That's what stops us trusting others is we know our own state - the shame we feel about ourselves. And this is why approx 2017 years ago Jesus came to remove the shame from us if we will accept it. He came to take out the trash that causes our shame - but the choice is ours to trust him.
The trash is the lies we are believing about ourselves, the lies that God does not accept us unless we are 'good enough', the lies of what we think others think about us. This is what's behind our shame that keeps getting in the way of us trusting others and God. Shame is the most painful emotion we can experience, it is evil and not Gods doing because God is only love. Shame is the devils game play of trashy lies to destroy our happiness because He wanted what God gave us - grace.
Trust for me is knowing that the pain I feel today is Gods way of taking out my trash so I can become shameless in front of him and truely accept his love. It's not punishment for what I've done, but rather removing he lies I'm believing about myself. When I look back at the hardest things I've faced in my life, it has always brought me to a happier place in myself because it's moving me closer to believing how God truely sees me as my true self. I don't need to feel shame about my past which allows me to live more fully in this present moment. This is the purpose of life, to have real connection in loving relationships with God and others.
Trust is not about an outcome or what is going to happen. Trust is about here and now in this moment, having a confidence, a faith or a belief in someone that they see the real you and love you inspite of your imperfections. Trust means you do not have to understand what is going on, but a knowing that you can fully expose and own your true self without being rejected. This vulnerability opens the doors to real connection, to a deep and meaningful relationship of love. Open the door to trust God and happiness is waiting, even in the hardest moments of life.