“Trust—the act of placing confidence in someone or something else—is a fundamental human experience, necessary for society to function and for any person to be relatively happy. Without it, fear rules. Trust is not an either/or proposition, but a matter of degree, and certain life experiences can impact a person’s ability to trust others.”  (Quoted from Goodtherapy.org)

Without “beating the [proverbial] dead horse,” I do not want to fly past the experience I had recently where I lost a lot of money to a skilled manipulator without learning all that God wants to teach me—because I really do not want to come up against another devilish attack, naïve about the enemy’s schemes.  For one without “3-D” glasses to recognize the spiritual realm, who may view the confrontations we have with unethical, cruel, or bitter people as just “unfortunate experiences” rather than spiritual warfare, scripture makes it very clear that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…” (Ephesians 6:12).  Unfortunately, we tend to underestimate just how cunning satan and his minions are—he does not go into battle unprepared and we must not either.

In the course of conversation, the person who was attempting to manipulate me into sending him money challenged me saying that I have “trust issues”.  This, of course, is a vulnerable area of my life—vulnerable for anyone who has experienced loss and betrayal.  So there was a little part of me that wanted to prove that I could be trusting, and I took the accusation on as a challenge, forgetting that one of the enemy’s most devious strategies is to accuse and condemn Christians (John 8:10, 11; Revelation 12:10).

Trust is an essential element in a Christian’s life, as long as it is well placed.  The psalmist proclaims, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him” (Psalm 18:30).  And Solomon instructs, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6).  And we have this confidence, “The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned” (Psalm 34:22).

However, as we can see from the beginning of recorded history, Satan also desires our trust:  “Now the serpent…said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden”?’  And the woman said to the serpent ‘…of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”  Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’”  (Genesis 3:1-4).

We always have the choice of deciding who we are going to trust—whether it will be our Creator, who “is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), or our “adversary the devil [who] walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Just as satan misrepresented his intentions, and himself, to Eve, he continues to transform “himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14) to craftily deceive the unsuspecting.

Something significant stood out in my encounter with the person who sought to defraud me; although he demanded my trust, he offered “information” as a sign that he was trusting me—and for his protection and the safety of others, I was not to tell anyone else.  What I realize now is that there must not be any “exceptions” to Biblical counsel:  “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise” (Proverbs 12:15).  “Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days” (Proverbs 19:20); the counsel of a good friend is delightful—“Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel” (Proverbs 27:9).  There can be no reason, no situation in our lives exempt from seeking biblical counsel from at least one Spirit-filled friend!

One of the enemy’s strategies is to isolate us from friends and fellowship with other believers.  A recorded event in Israel’s journey from Egypt made a lasting impression on me:  “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God” (Deuteronomy 25:17, 18).  Satan continues to attack with vengeance the stragglers, the isolated, the vulnerable—the tired and weary.

As easy as it is to listen to voices of fear, pride, intimidation, or manipulation, God did not create us for these; instead, He created us for support and community:  “…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:18-21).

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching”

(Hebrews 10:24, 25).