One of the things I like about science is that it is reproducible. In order for something in the science world to be deemed true, you must be able to take all of the same setup and get the same results. Anyone anywhere must be able to do this.
During labs in school, it was a rule of thumb that all experiments must be done in AT LEAST triplicate. The idea is that you’re looking for some underlying rule of nature. If you are able to get the same results multiple times, then that rule of nature must be true.
Something that isn’t talked about in science is how much trust it takes to believe this. A scientist will base his whole life’s work on the understanding that the laws of nature will always act the same way. To be fair, there’s a lot of evidence pointing towards this conclusion, but it didn’t have to be this way. Why should the universe follow any sort of law? Scientists TRUST that there really are some underlying laws that will never change. Really, all of us believe this to a degree.
A question often asked of Atheist scientists is “Why?” If there is no God, if there is no purpose, if there is no meaning to our world, why should it be so ordered? Physics tells us that nature prefers disorder. In fact, the second law of thermodynamics states that the total disorder of a system either increases or remains constant in any spontaneous process; it never decreases. But if you think about it, even that is a law that scientists trust to remain constant. Why shouldn’t nature just change its way tomorrow? What’s stopping it? Again, there is A LOT of proof that the laws of nature will remain constant, that they are in fact LAWS that won’t change, but scientists TRUST in nature’s consistency to remain true.
I personally trust that the laws of nature will remain constant, but that is in no small part because of my trust in the Lord. Next Sunday’s Psalm lays it out beautifully:
The Psalm continues:
Upright is the word of the Lord,
And all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
Of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.
(Psalm 33: 4-5)
It is easy to trust in the laws of nature because we have documented evidence that it has always acted a certain way and so it makes sense to trust it will continue to always act in that way. In our lives, things are constantly changing. There is always something new. This makes trust a bit harder, but if we look to the Lord, even though each individual person’s life may be different, the Lord has time and time again throughout the history of the world been trustworthy. We have documented evidence of this too; simply look to the Bible. Even when our life becomes uncertain and we don’t know what will come next, we must trust the Lord to be with us through it all.
Each day we set things down, trusting that the Law of Gravity will still hold, and those items will not go flying away. We don’t even think about it. How much more trust should we be giving to God, without hesitation. I know it can be difficult, we must ask for help in this endeavor. We must say, “Lord, help me to trust you in all that I do.” Since this is so important, a nun from New York City, a Sister of Life, came up with an entire “Litany of Trust”. I hope that you’ll pray it throughout this next week. Whatever you’re going through, give it over to God. Trust that he will help you through it.
LITANY OF TRUST
From the belief that I have to earn Your love Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that I am unlovable Deliver me, Jesus.
From the false security that I have what it takes Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that trusting You will leave me more destitute Deliver me, Jesus.
From all suspicion of Your words and promises Deliver me, Jesus.
From the rebellion against childlike dependency on You Deliver me, Jesus.
From refusals and reluctances in accepting Your will Deliver me, Jesus.
From anxiety about the future Deliver me, Jesus.
From resentment or excessive preoccupation with the past Deliver me, Jesus.
From restless self-seeking in the present moment Deliver me, Jesus.
From disbelief in Your love and presence Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being asked to give more than I have Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that my life has no meaning or worth Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of what love demands Deliver me, Jesus.
From discouragement Deliver me, Jesus.
That You are continually holding me, sustaining me, loving me Jesus, I trust in You.
That Your love goes deeper than my sins and failings and transforms me Jesus, I trust in You.
That not knowing what tomorrow brings is an invitation to lean on You Jesus, I trust in You.
That You are with me in my suffering Jesus, I trust in You.
That my suffering, united to Your own, will bear fruit in this life and the next Jesus, I trust in You.
That You will not leave me orphan, that You are present in Your Church Jesus, I trust in You.
That Your plan is better than anything else Jesus, I trust in You.
That You always hear me and in Your goodness always respond to me Jesus, I trust in You.
That You give me the grace to accept forgiveness and to forgive others Jesus, I trust in You.
That You give me all the strength I need for what is asked Jesus, I trust in You.
That my life is a gift Jesus, I trust in You.
That You will teach me to trust You Jesus, I trust in You.
That You are my Lord and my God Jesus, I trust in You.
That I am Your beloved one Jesus, I trust in You.
For more inspiration on trusting God, may I suggest the saint whose feast day is today? St. Maurice of Carnoet! Maurice was given the task of founding a monastery in the woods of Carnoet. Unfortunately those woods were terrorized by aggressive wolves. His fellow monks wanted to get rid of the wolves, but Maurice reminded them that the wolves were created by God and so they themselves should not harm them. Instead, he prayed that Jesus would drive out these wolves and protect the monks. He put his trust in God to keep him and his fellow monks safe. Shortly after he offered this prayer, 2 wolves were found dead near the monastery. Since they could find no apparent cause of death, the monks took this as God’s answer to their prayers. They put their trust in God when it came to their safety and they were rewarded.
