Illustration: I’ve listened to Billy Joel’s music most of my life. When I was a boy, I was fortunate to see him live in concert at least once. One of his tunes from the 1980s is titled “A Matter of Trust.” Below are some of the lyrics:

Some love is just a lie of the soul
A constant battle for the ultimate state of control
After you’ve heard lie upon lie
There can hardly be a question of why

Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
But that can’t happen to us
‘Cause it’s always been a matter of trust

It’s a matter of trust
It’s always been a matter of trust
It’s a matter of trust
‘Cause it’s always been a matter of trust

Connection:

Like many of Joel’s songs, this one is about relationships–their joys, mysteries, sorrows, and dramas. The theme of this particular tune is trust. Scripture, too, speaks to this issue of trust. The locus of the wise person’s trust is crucial. Upon whom should the wise person rely? Self? A spouse? A friend? A politician? A fellow soldier? A grandparent? God?

Per Scripture, the wise person will trust the Lord. Why? Because God is the one person who cannot lie. That is one of the most comforting truths in the world–that God cannot lie. Why? Because to lie would mean being less than holy, less than perfectly righteous. And that would violate God’s nature.

Encouragement: In Psalm 20, David writes the following:

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

They collapse and fall,

but we rise and stand upright (Ps 20:7-8).

I long to rise and stand upright. But that hinges upon the locus of our faith. The wise person’s trust should be in the one who is ultimately and wholly trustworthy, the Lord himself.