We all want to pursue God's call for our lives. At the core of our hearts is a desire to be used by God for things bigger and greater than ourselves. But here's the challenge- when God calls us, He rarely calls us to go alone. He often calls us to trust others and to partner with them by building relationship and pursuing unity together.

Why is that hard? Because if we were truly honest with ourselves, trust is risky. It exposes us to a lot of heavy and painful disappointment. But if we want to fulfill God's purpose for our lives and to follow Jesus, we must follow with others.

Take the example of the first disciples. They didn't always get along. They argued about who was better, they were from different backgrounds and they would often fail each other. Yet it was clear that Jesus had called them to follow Him together. The same goes true for us. If we want to follow Jesus, we must follow with others and thus learn to trust and even sometimes get over the pain of disappointment. What does it take to trust others?

Look for potential

When God would call people, He often called them not based on who they were and what they had achieved, but based on the potential found in them. Even in Moses' poor speech and bad background, He called him. Even though David was so insignificant that even his father didn't think he'd measure to much, He called him.

When you look at people, do you see the potential in them? If so, it would be much easier to trust people.

Trust the God who works through them

One leader once told me this: "If you can't trust the person, trust the Holy Spirit that works through Him." Yes, I understand that not all people work through the power of the Holy Spirit, but in one way or another God is always on top of people and uses them for His glory and for our good (Romans 8:28).

From a corrupt and hard-headed Pharaoh to a treacherous disciple, God can use anyone for his glory. I'm not saying the people around you are treacherous and corrupt. In fact if God can use people as evil as Pharaoh, Saul, and all the antagonists in the Bible, He sure can use the sometimes imperfect but often well-meaning people around you as well.

Forgive

One thing is for sure: Everyone disappoints everyone at some point. Even the best leaders and most skilled workers can and will fail. Colossians 3:13 urges us, "bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

Forgiveness is made possible because Jesus has paid for our ultimate forgiveness once and for all. If God forgave us, then what's to stop us from forgiving others who have let us down? God's all-encompassing forgiveness allows us to trust at a higher level.