When Trust Breaks Down
Micah 7:5–7
“Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with the woman who lies in your embrace guard the words of your lips.”
– Micah 7:5 (ESV)
“But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”
– Micah 7:7 (ESV)
The Breakdown of Trust
Micah paints a bleak picture.
Not only are the leaders corrupt and the judges bought off, but even within families and close relationships, there’s betrayal. He says, “Don’t trust your neighbor. Don’t even trust the one who shares your bed.” The very fabric of society has unraveled — and it shows up most painfully in the breaking of trust.
You may have felt that before.
Maybe you’ve been betrayed by someone you counted on. Maybe the people who should have stood by you instead stepped away. Maybe you’ve learned, through tears, what it means to guard your words even around those closest to you.
Micah wasn’t speaking in abstraction. He was living through a time of national and spiritual crisis. Sin wasn’t just an individual problem — it was a social one. Truth had fallen in the streets. And in that kind of world, even love had limits.
But Then — a Turn
“But as for me…”
Micah makes a pivot — a spiritual decision.
While the world around him spirals into chaos, while trust in man proves futile, Micah turns his eyes upward.
“I will look to the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.”
He doesn’t pretend that people aren’t broken. He doesn’t sugarcoat betrayal. But he doesn’t live in despair either.
He places his hope in the only one who has never broken a promise.
A Word for Us Today
We live in a time where trust is increasingly fragile. Leaders fall. Institutions disappoint. Even within families, trust can be hard-won and easily lost.
Micah 7:5 is not a call to harden our hearts, but a call to realism.
Don’t place your ultimate trust in people — even good people. Because we are all flawed, limited, and broken in our own ways.
Place your trust in the One who never fails. In a world of shifting loyalties and uncertain alliances, God is steady, sure, and listening.
Final Thought
If your trust has been broken, God understands. He doesn’t shame you for your hurt — He meets you in it.
And if you’re the one who has failed someone else — take heart. God is not only a refuge, He is also a Redeemer. Broken trust can be healed when we walk in truth, humility, and forgiveness.
So let Micah’s words guide you:
- Look to the Lord.
- Wait on His timing.
- Trust that He hears you.
Because even when trust on earth is shaky, faith in heaven is secure.