Formation as Trust (Psalm 27)
If we could only choose one word to point toward the essence of spiritual formation, trust would be a good candidate. Throughout the book of Psalms, the psalmists cry out in their dire straits and place themselves in the hands of the Lord, which is where he wants them to be.
In this sense, trust is formative. It is the placing of ourselves in the hands of God over and over again, that we put ourselves in the way of the experience of his faithfulness. Trust is the difference between theory and practice. Trust is tested when the stakes rise, and yet we allow him to shape, mold, and lead us. It is through the repetition of the words of trust that we come to know he is trustworthy.
In that sense, our challenges become opportunities. When we come to the limits of our strength, we are given the chance to embrace dependence. The instinct of self-reliance is gradually dislodged by the formation of a deeper habit. So sometimes God gives us the grace of facing long odds, since few of us walk into those lessons willingly. As a wise man once admitted, “I never let go of anything that didn’t have claw marks in it.”
