LifeDate Summer 2026 – God Said … And It Was So
by Deaconess Janet Nicol, Word of Hope
“We’re never so vulnerable than when we trust someone—but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy.” – Walter Anderson
Mr. Anderson has a lot to say about a lot of things. He is an American contemporary figure who has a rags-to-riches story peppered with a traumatic childhood to boot and has written books about his experiences and successes. I found this one quote attributed to him rather compelling. It is without a doubt that Mr. Anderson’s quote rings true in the sense of our relationships with each other. When we take the risk and trust in another person, our lives can be full of love and joy—until we can’t trust that someone. Then there’s vulnerability, and it is so painful.
Vulnerability is born out of creation itself. In Genesis 1 God says, “And it is so.” Everything that was ever created depended on the Word of God. That is total dependency. Total dependency creates vulnerability. However, it was a vulnerability which lacked fear, doubt, and shame. It existed with peace, joy and love. There was harmony between man and his Creator, between man and all of creation, between God and all of His creation. It is something we cannot fathom since the fall of man: vulnerability now reflects all those negatives.
In the context of our condition as Christians, there is nothing so true as Mr. Anderson’s statement. When we put our trust, which is faith, in Christ and Christ alone, we are making ourselves completely vulnerable. The question is most days, who can do that—or would even want to, especially when we have the experiences we have with people? Not me. And certainly not the abused child, or the spouse and/or family member of an alcoholic, or the victim of violence or emotional manipulation.
But thanks be to God, He gives us the ability to trust in Him.
In the Apology of the Augsburg Confession (the defense of the original confession), Article XVIII: Of Free Will, we read:
“… as Paul says, 1 Corinthians 2:14: The natural man, i.e., man using only natural strength, receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. That is, a person who is not enlightened by the Spirit of God does not, by his natural reason, receive anything of God’s will and divine matters. So, through God, by the Holy Spirit, is the only way we can trust in Him.”
We thank God for this transformation so that we can be vulnerable because without trust, we cannot find love or joy. Now we can enjoy our vulnerability thanks to the Lord of Life becoming a part of creation and bridging the gap between us and our God through His sacrificial death. Now we can experience this joyful vulnerability when we trust in Jesus. Yet we must remember that in our vulnerability, we will have trials, struggles, and even persecutions in this life, but we count them as joy because we know:
“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
So, take heart, fellow Christians: We have learned that trust is a vulnerable situation, and we must each remember that trust in God is a gift given to us by Christ and the vulnerability is totally worth it because we have love and joy forever. Amen.