When God has confidence in you, He entrusts you with certain things. I will name two, and there are many Biblical references. The Gospel of Matthew however has the primary example I want us to dwell on.
You may not have thought of it that way, but some of the trials and difficulties you have faced may have been just that, God having faith in you. He believed you could bear it with little or no complaint. He trusted that you would handle it well, and His purpose for allowing you to go through it would be realised.
God bragged about the man, Job. Have you also known somebody that you felt so sure of, you could bet on what they would do? You had such confidence in them. There is a big difference between a test and a temptation. God allows us to go through a test, knowing that we will do well. The devil on the other hand, brings temptations, hoping we will fail and fall.
God knew Joseph would pull through successfully! Ordinarily, a person who did all the good but was rewarded repeatedly with the bad should baulk. Many would shut their bowels of kindness and halt their good works. You may not even have all the qualities required for the whole process right now, but God is still at work, putting His spanners where necessary, to make the needed adjustments. I don’t believe even Joseph had it all from the outset, and that is one of the reasons some of us will be called to go through some drill, to produce an improved version of us.
Another way God shows He trusts a person is through what He tells them. He confides in them. He gives you critical information about the nation, about your family or friends. Sometimes He wants you to do something about it. At other times, the matter is locked down and it is for your information only.
I remember, in 1993, while Nigeria was preparing for the presidential elections, one candidate was expected to win because he had overwhelming support throughout the country. I lived in an area of Lagos where we had many relatives. It was almost another version of our hometown. Then the Lord told me that the man favoured to win would not get the office. That surprised even me, so I told a number of our older cousins. Their reaction was a combination of annoyance and disbelief. But then events rapidly rolled by proved that I was right, and they remembered what I had told them. Definitely, the name of the Lord was glorified.
Some privileged information from the Lord can be unsettling. Some things the Lord tells you may involve playing a role, like praying for example, or going to deliver a warning, something you may not be comfortable with.
I have been instructed to do things i would rather not do in my natural mind. Like going to tell someone who clearly wronged me to forgive me! This also was informed by His trust. Long afterwards, the Lord explained why I had to apologise even though i was in the right. We had a gospel campaign planned and the fellow was an essential part of it. He also asked if i knew that the person in question was still, spiritually, a child? Someone less submissive would reject or resist doing so. Take Abraham for example, who was suffering from the reproach of not having a child, and he was asked to go and change his name. “Father of many nations”! His wife was to do the same.
God’s instruction to Joseph, whose betrothed wife had been thought unfaithful because she was pregnant, falls in this line. I believe, this proves God trusts those who really trust Him. And you can imagine what Mary herself must have felt, if her submission to God had been incomplete. Many in her place would have become angry and resentful towards Heaven, if out of fear! Apart from the stigma, a woman accused of adultery was faced with a death sentence.
But what would you and I do? Can Heaven trust us still? Are we trustful enough to take a situation we cannot explain as yet with calmness, knowing God is always in control and committed to bringing about an outcome that will glorify His name?