An orange traffic cone. That was what I picked up in January of 2017 as part of a class assignment. We were told to go find an item that currently described your relationship with the Lord. The cone seemed to sum up my feelings at the time – is God really trustworthy?

It’s an answer I knew cognitively as yes, but doubt still remained. I remember describing to the class that I had a desire to dive into the deep end of God’s love, but this cone kept getting in the way. As I was sprinting towards the pool of His love in my mind, I’d see the cone and stop. It was a real wrestle for me.

It’s important, dare I say even imperative, for us to wrestle with the fears and doubts that we have towards God. It’s equally important for us to remember that those fears and doubts do not come from God. There is an evil in this world that does not want us to step into or participate in the right relationship that God offers us through the forgiveness of our sins and salvation of our souls (John 10:10).

That concern I had when I picked up the orange cone was not something placed in my heart by the Lord. It could have been anything: the world, the enemy, my sinful nature, but it wasn’t of God.

Processing through the past years, it’s interesting to see that my fear around whether God is trustworthy was the thing most attacked by a broken relationship. I was told by someone close to me many times, “God told me …” And while there’s nothing wrong with those words, there was a lack of empathy that routinely left me feeling hurt, blindsided, and confused. Seemingly confirming the lack of God’s trustworthiness.

To boil this down, how we treat others around us matters, and it matters deeply. Because at the end of the day two buckets to place our actions in. A bucket unto the Lord and a bucket against Him. And there are even times when we do the right thing the wrong way that can leave a wake of hurt behind us.

I understand this is incredibly black and white, but I believe the way we interact with others is either confirming the truth of which God has spoken over them, or confirming the lie of which the enemy has spoken over them. How we treat people contributes in the confirmation of one or the other.

Think before you speak. Consider both your heart and that of the other person in your response. I didn’t realize that my fear of God’s trustworthiness had been under attack for so long. That attack ended up coming from someone who may have meant well, but deeply damaged my soul. Friend, you have the power through your actions and your words to either build one up or tear one down. We are often confirming something in someone.