Briefing: As most law enforcement officers advance in their careers, trust becomes more and more difficult.

Dispatch (Assignment): Make a list of who you trust. You can even assign them a score from 1-10, 10 being total trust.

On the Street: Years of experience come with seeing the worst of human behavior and we, in law enforcement can become jaded. If we are not careful our hearts can become hard and callous toward other humans. We don’t trust people and we become overly suspicious of everyone. This is the typical path of a street cop but not the absolute path. There is another path, a straight path you can take to avoid being the untrusting, hard hearted and calloused person.

Put your trust in the Lord and He will make your path straight. To be more specific, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5 (NIV).

What does this all mean? Putting your trust in the Lord is an easy thing to say. To trust the Lord with all your heart is a total commitment. It is all in, no looking back and a total buy in. When you fall short on finances, trust in God to come through. I’m not saying you don’t pick up an off duty job or overtime shift, but you pray that God will provide and trust that He will provide. Who do you think provides you with the off duty job? God.

There was a man living next to a river. One day the river flooded. The water rose so high the man had to crawl onto the roof to keep from drowning. He prayed for God to save him. Just then a rescue boat came by and offered to help the man. He told them no thanks, God was going to save him. The water continued to rise. A Coast Guard helicopter came to rescue him but he refused telling them God was going to save him. The water continued to rise and he was swept away and drowned. When he got to heaven he asked God why He had not saved him. God answered, “who did you think sent the boat and the helicopter?”

God’s provision is not always a supernatural lightning bolt. We miss His blessings because we fail to see God at work in our everyday lives. We don’t know how God will provide but we have to trust He will. Isaiah 55:8 (NIV) says, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.”

Proverbs 21:22 (NIV), “A wise man attacks the city of the mighty and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.”

Do not be the person who puts their trust in material things. Don’t look to your job as your security. If you have put your trust in something a wise man can attack, you have misplaced your trust.

Proverbs 22:17-19 (NIV), “Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips. So that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you.”

Investigational Resources: Matthew 10:23, 2 Corinthians 10:4, 1 Peter 3:15, Hebrews 13:6

Officer Safety Principle: Trust in God.

from The Book of Proverbs Through the Eyes of a Cop
©by Charles Gilliland. Used by permission.
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