Trust as Choice

“He who promised is faithful” (Heb 10:23). Is the Lord trustworthy? We know the textbook answer: of course He is. Yet my heart can still doubt. My life experiences can make me question. Theology can feel dense and confusing. Slowly, I can settle for rituals—“doing what may be expected of me”—and going through the motions becomes a familiar pattern.

Scripture purifies my understanding of God. I know that I am made in the image and likeness of God, the imago Dei (cf. Gen 1:26–27). At times, it helps to return to what I do know rather than what I don’t and to take intentional steps from there. Trust, after all, is a choice. The Oxford Dictionary defines trust as a “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” We know who that Someone is: Jesus—fully man and fully God. He knows our doubts, our challenges, and our struggles to trust Him. Still, fear rises: Will He come through for me? Does He really care?

“Jesus exhorts us to childlike trust” (CCC 2785). He models this in Lk 23:46 when He says, “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit”—total self-surrender in the face of abandonment. Psychologically, this terrifies us. It feels extreme, all or nothing, an enormous risk. Yet when we invite Him into our fears, doubts, and uncertainties, we give Him permission to speak in a way only He can.

We see this lived out in the Blessed Mother. Wholly surrendered at the foot of the Cross, she was not feeling “hallelujah, amen.” The words spoken by the Archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation no longer seemed to make sense. Jesus was dead, and everyone else had fled. And yet she did not waver. Hers was an act of the will—choosing to believe that “filial trust is tested in suffering” (CCC 2734) and that “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Is 26:3). There may not have been psychological peace, but she remained rooted in divine peace (cf. Phil 4:7).

Karl Marx’s famous quote—“religion is the opium of the people” (Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right)—suggests that belief is mere wishful thinking meant to dull reality. But trust is more than a feeling. My belief that Christ is King, that He is real, and that “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16) is supernatural before it is psychological. We are broken people. We struggle with faith, hope, and love. Yet this does not push God away. If anything, He uses our weakness to draw us deeper into relationship with Him. The question, then, is: What is my response?

St. Faustina Kowalska, canonized in 2000 and known as the Apostle of Divine Mercy, witnesses to a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, and strength of the Lord. “Jesus, I trust in You” was the signature beneath the vision she received in 1931—a message for the Church, and a message for you and me today: trust in His love and mercy. In French, it is Jésus, j’ai confiance en Toi. Trust as confidence. The Sisters of Life echo this in the Litany of Trust: “That You will teach me to trust You—Jesus, I trust in You.” He wants to meet me in my doubts. St. Faustina reminds us that “trust is the vessel with which souls draw graces” (Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, 1578).

A Doctor of the Church, co-patron of the missions and of France, and recognized by UNESCO as one of the most significant figures for contemporary humanity, St. Thérèse of Lisieux teaches that “it is trust and nothing but trust that must lead us to love” (Letter 197). Story of a Soul helps me grow in trust because of her honesty and relatability. Rather than being intimidated by great saints or settling for less because of her own inadequacy, she spoke candidly with the Lord and simply told Him how she felt:

“The good God would not inspire unattainable desires; I can, then, in spite of my littleness, aspire to sanctity… The elevator which must raise me to the heavens is Your arms, O Jesus! For that I do not need to grow; on the contrary, I must necessarily remain small, become smaller” (Manuscript C).

Do not let the tone or wording deceive you—there is practical, logical wisdom here. While acknowledging my weakness and vulnerability, I do not despair or give up. Instead, I choose to surrender and to exercise filial trust, allowing my self-consciousness to pivot toward God-consciousness. Trust replaces self-reliance. I stop obstructing grace with perfectionism or fear, admit that on my own I cannot, and declare that He is God by taking Him at His word.

We are often our own greatest enemies. St. Augustine is often credited with saying: “Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love, and the future to God’s providence.” It is in His presence that peace is found. My spiritual director once told me to “allow the Father to speak and give Him the space to do so.”

One evening, I went to the Adoration chapel on Nicholls’ campus. It was late, and I found myself alone—just Jesus and me. I noticed two large wooden angel statues beside the monstrance, each wearing a sash with writing carved into it. From where I knelt, I couldn’t make out the words. As I approached to place the veil before the monstrance and repose the Lord, I came close enough to read them. They were not in Latin, as I had assumed, but in Dutch—my native language. On the left angel: Marias kind (Mary’s child) and on the right angel: Jezus lieveling (Jesus’ beloved).

Jesus, I trust in You.

Bibliography:
C’est la Confiance. Apostolic Exhortation on Confidence in the Merciful Love of God. Pope Francis. 2023.
Litany of Trust. Sisters of Life. 2010.
Story of a Soul. St Thérèse of the Child Jesus. 1898.
Divine Mercy in my Soul. St Faustina Kowalska. 1981.
Into Your Hands, Father. Abandoning Ourselves to the God who Loves us. Wilfrid Stinissen. 1986.
Abandonment to Divine Providence. Jean Pierre de Caussade. 1861.
Prayer of Abandonment. St Charles de Foucauld. 1896.
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JJ Hussem originally hails from a small town in the southern region of the Netherlands. He moved to Louisiana from London in 2024 to join the Office of Parish Support as a liaison. He is passionate about seeing Christ move in others, the new evangelization, and tennis. He resides in Thibodaux and attends Our Lady of Prompt Succor in Chackbay.