Trusting Humans, Trusting God
My mother is spending the week with us. After taking care of some “office work” this morning, I went to Denver for a meeting. I’m glad the weather was good and traffic manageable.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “A curse is placed on those who trust other people, who depend on humans for strength, who have stopped trusting the Lord.…the person who trusts in the Lord will be blessed. The Lord will show him that he can be trusted.” Jeremiah 17:6,7 NCV
Where we place our trust reveals much about our life. Solomon said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t lean on your own understanding…” (Proverbs 3:5) David declared, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” (Psalm 20:7 NIV)
The Bible is not against physicians and those who can be of help in our lives in a myriad of ways. God works through human instruments to accomplish His work. What happens is when human help and intellect is placed above God. It is a matter of where we find confidence and security for our life. There are times when doctors are perplexed and when things happen that defy an explanation. The Bible says of the women with the “issue of blood” that she, “…suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.” (Mark 5:26 ESV) That sounds like many in our world today.
We read of of King Asa, that although he had known the miracles of deliverance the Lord could bring, he became ill and, “Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.“ (2 Chronicles 16:12 NIV) We see that those who place their trust in the humans alone forfeit knowing what the Lord alone can do. The Lord spoke through Jeremiah and said, “They don’t know about the good things God can give.” (Jeremiah 17:6 NCV)
Jeremiah says the Lord stands ready to prove Himself faithful to those who trust in Him, “The Lord will show him that he can be trusted.” (Jeremiah 17:7) I think of the words of the old hymn that say, “O, what peace we often forfeit, O, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
We see that the Lord promises to provide the strength that is needed for the difficulty that we face, “He [the one who trusts the Lord] will be strong, like a tree planted near water that sends its roots by a stream.” (Jeremiah 17:8 NCV)
I was visiting with family members this weekend who had prayed for me during my health crisis and commented that my survival and recovery was an, “answer to prayer.” I have come to understand that my condition was at many times confounding to doctors and they were uncertain as to what my outcome would be. I believe they were able to recognize God’s hand on my life during my months of hospitalization.
As I have shard my story on occasion, I state that it is important to “be careful where you place your trust.” When we place our trust in the Lord, we have a sure foundation, for today, tomorrow and eternity.