MISPLACED TRUST

“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!”- ISAIAH 31:1

Anicely dressed young man came to our door offering to wash windows. He had a clean uniform and presented himself well. Impressed, I hired him, and he began the work. Nearly done, he left for the day, promising to finish a few things the next morning.

He never showed up. In the full light of day, the windows he had washed were streaked. It turned out the company didn’t exist. And yes, I had paid him! I felt foolish, but it was a valuable lesson about misplaced trust.

God’s people misplaced their trust in three ways. They became impressed by the externals, i.e., many chariots and strong horses. Second, they forgot that God told them never to go back to Egypt (Deuteronomy 17:16). Worst, they failed to consult with the Lord.

We live in a world that is more impressed with externals than with faith. Its offers seem so strong. Its promises so reliable. It can take courage to go against the flow and obey God. Faith can seems weak by comparison.

But God is stronger than any of these things. He is more reliable, and he is there to help. We need to obey Him above all else, trust Him more than anything else, look to him first and always.

It is said, “Never forget in the dark what God has told you in the light.” It is always best to trust in God.

Lord, help me to trust — really deeply trust — in you. May I never put my true faith in anything less. Amen.

Go Deeper — Is there some way in which God is asking you to trust Him today?

Soil Matters

Are you ready to hear from God?

Matthew 13:1-9

When teaching the crowds, the Lord often used parables, which were hard to understand in the moment. Yet now that we have the full revelation of God, these short stories serve as wonderful examples of what it means to live a life of faith.

One parable Jesus told was about a farmer planting seeds that fell in different places: on a path, in shallow soil, among thorns, and on fertile ground. He ended the story with, “The one who has ears, let him hear” (Matt. 13:9). Afterward, the disciples asked Jesus why He chose to teach this way, and He explained that not everyone was willing to hear spiritual truth. But He told the Twelve, “Blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear” (Matthew 13:16). As believers, we are blessed in the same way.

However, learning how to listen to (and act upon) what we hear from the Lord takes time and practice; it’s not a process one can rush through. The fertile soil that Jesus mentions in verse 8 is a heart prepared to hear and respond to His Word (Matthew 13:23). By spending time in prayer and scriptural meditation, we can “rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1). In that way, we can become even better, more attuned listeners. What is one thing you can do today to prepare your heart to receive God’s Word?

Sovereign Lord, Gentle Shepherd

Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms.

Isaiah 40:10–11

The United States of America has never been keen on sovereigns or their sovereignty. We prefer someone we can vote into a position and call upon as necessary—and vote out when we choose! And if we’re honest, this is often true of our approach to God as well. We prefer to control rather than to be controlled.

God, however, cannot be managed or remade in our image. He is the sovereign Lord, whose existence perfectly contrasts with our human frailty and finite nature. We are like grass and springtime flowers, which wither and fall. It’s not so with God, who has ruled and reigned over everything for all eternity. Even His word stands forever (Isaiah 40:6-8).

In His sovereignty, God has accomplished an amazing conquest: victory over sin and death. In His immense wisdom, He, the Lawgiver, came in the person of Jesus, submitted to and fulfilled the very law He had given, and then died in the place of sinners to pay our debt and give us eternal life. As Peter preached, “God raised him up … because it was not possible for him to be held” by death’s power (Acts 2:24). This is His victory.

While God is the sovereign Lord, though, He is also our gentle Shepherd. He doesn’t come to His people like some great general onto a battlefield; instead, He carries His flock close to Him, leading them with compassion. Those who once were sad, alienated, and guilty, and living in the fear of death have now been set free. Victoriously, He declares, “I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost” (John 17:12).

We can rejoice in God’s sovereignty, for He is both mighty and gentle, the Shepherd seeking to bring in the lost and accomplish His mission. When He’s at work, His voice speaks and the deaf hear, His light shines and the blind see. We have been gathered up to the heart of this gentle Shepherd and can live confident that this world belongs to our sovereign Father.

One challenge in the Christian life is to have a view of God that is big enough: to know Him as both “the LORD God” who “comes with might” and before whom we come with reverent awe, and as the one who “will tend his flock like a shepherd” and whom we follow in intimate friendship. The Lord Jesus is both the Lion and He is the Lamb (Revelation 5:5-6). Which do you find hardest to remember and live in light of? Remember both and you will obey Him and enjoy Him, as both your Sovereign and as your Shepherd.