To know!

"But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him."

(2 Timothy 1:12b)

I was driving home after working out early one November morning. I was flipping through stations on my Sirius XM radio, and came across a song that immediately grabbed me. The voice sounded familiar (Kelly Clarkson), but I didn't recognize the song. One line in particular jumped out, "But I'm not afraid, I know who I married..." I later discovered it was from the Broadway musical, HAMILTON, and Kelly's version was off the HAMILTON MIXTAPE album. I was immediately hooked. I downloaded the song off iTunes and listened to it probably 8 or 10x more that day. The very next day I downloaded the entire HAMILTON SOUNDTRACK and began scheming a way to see the show live (which I eventually did in 2018!).

In the book of 2 Timothy, Paul tells his young protege that he's not ashamed of the suffering he's had to endure, for the sake of Jesus. Why? Because, he says, "I know the one in whom I have put my trust." This, of course, echoes the lyrics from Hamilton (okay, maybe Lin Manuel-Miranda was inspired by Paul!?!). But it's such a true statement!

In our most intimate relationships (our spouse, close family members, best friends, mentors, etc.), we should know these people so well, that no matter what experiences we may encounter, no matter what circumstances come our way, no matter if harsh or unkind (careless) words are spoken... WE SHOULD KNOW THEIR HEART! My wife Jody said this to me when we first started going out. When I inadvertently said something that hurt her, she'd reply, "That's okay, Jim... I know your heart." Meaning, she knew I didn't intentionally try to hurt her. So she'd default to that understanding.

As people of faith, we can trust God's goodness, mercy, love and grace... no matter what may come our way! No matter what it may "seem like" to us, we know that God loves us and wants the best for us. So we know the one in whom we place our trust! And hopefully we can say the same for our spouses, best friends, and family members. May we know their hearts, and trust their love!