Chariots, or God?

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."

Psalm 20:7

Common Sense, intelligence, street smarts.

Education, degrees, knowledge.

Lineage, pedigree, family heritage.

Income, savings, investments.

Know-how, positive attitude, self-faith.

There are many things in which I can place my faith.  There is much in which I can believe will pull me through the hard times.  When trouble hits, I can turn in many directions in order to find help.  What is my go-to source when the waters begin to rise, the embers smolder, the difficulties raise their ugly heads?  In what do I place my confidence, believing it will never let me down?  What helps me cope?

Whatever it is, if it's not God, it will fail.

Supremacy.  God has resources I know nothing about.  I recently was reminded of this truth when I cried out to Him in desperation.  The numbers in our family budget were not adding up, Christmas was coming and I didn't know what we would do.  I left it in my Father's hands and went about my day-to-day business.  Then the phone rang.  "Honey," my husband says on the other end of the line, "Would you check the account?  I just received a notice of a deposit for $500.  Do you know what that is for?"

I didn't, but I smiled, remembering God's promise to meet our needs.  It turns out, we were being reimbursed for our deductible after a car accident earlier in the year.  We didn't expect this payment.  It wasn't even on our radar.  Yes, God has resources we know nothing about.

The power of my God cannot be matched, comprehended or contained.  He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, has the hairs on my head counted, and intimately knows my thoughts (Psalm 50:10, Matthew 10:30,Psalm 139:2).  Such power is beyond my ability to understand.  With such a Father as this, is there anything He cannot do?  Is there any problem He cannot solve?  Any need He is not able to meet?  No.  He is more than able.  He is God!

If I trust in God like David did, I will not be disappointed.

Sovereignty.  Could I imagine God wringing His hands, worried about events that are taking place in His creation, wondering how it will all work out?  Of course not, He's God.  It's all in His hands, under His control, written in His book (Psalm 95:3-5, 1 Corinthians 15:27,Psalm 139:16).

If I believe He has complete control, why do I wring my hands, worry about things that are happening in my life, wondering how it will all shake out in the end?  God knows.  He has my best interest at heart.  He is ordering my footsteps.  Therefore, it will be okay.  Everything will turn out as He planned as long as I work with Him, let Him have His way, cooperating with His beneficial plan.  Otherwise, I'll throw things off, walk on my own path that leads to destruction, miss out on all the good He has planned.

Not to worry even then, though.  Even when I do stray, He gets me back on track, just like a GPS system that recalculates when I make a wrong turn.  It doesn't tell me the trip is off and there's no hope so turn around and go home.  No!  It takes the data gathered from my present location and comes up with a new route that will get me to my original destination.  Similarly, with God there is always hope and it's never too late to turn back to His plan for my life.

If I trust in God like David did, I will not be disappointed.

Sanctuary.  I remember how I felt after my purse was stolen out of my car.  I no longer felt safe in my hometown.  I used to feel secure, as if I were somehow in a protected little bubble in the place where I grew up.  I never felt a need to lock a door, secure a window or look behind me.  After that incident, however, things changed.  The security I used to feel was gone.

While I may never know a place in this world that is free from crime, there is a safe place where I am perfectly protected.  God is this safe place.  Under the shadow of His wings I never need to fear for my life, nor worry that He will somehow take advantage of me if I make myself vulnerable to Him, nor wonder if He really cares enough to give me His best.  I can trust Him as my sanctuary.

He is so safe, in fact, that I can even entrust my mess-ups, sinfulness, and failures to Him.  His redemptive power is such that He can take all that I think I ruined in my life and turn it into a gorgeous tapestry (Romans 8:28).   He can take that which was done to me for evil and transform it into something good that He planned long ago (Genesis 50:20, Ephesians 2:10).  He has a way of using the ugly to create beauty (Isaiah 61:3).

If I trust in God like David did, I will not be disappointed.

There is so much in this world that I can trust to help me when times get hard.  When my back is up against the wall, I have my go-to resources that I believe will never fail.  If those means are not God, however, they will fail.  Only He is faithful because He is supreme, sovereign and a sanctuary I can trust.  If I place my faith in Him, I will never be sorry.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can place all my eggs in God's basket.

When do I hold back, not putting my full weight on God?

How am I trusting in other resources besides God?