“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
Psalm 20:7 (NIV) Everyone trusts something. The question is, in what—or in whom—do you place your trust? Our society tends to spurn trust—or at least we say we do. We’re skeptical of everyone and everything. We don’t trust the government or journalists. Employees don’t trust employers. Customers don’t trust businesses. We don’t even trust the weather report! When you get down to the bottom of the decline of trust today, you’ll find that our society’s “truth decay” is a big part of it. Truth and trust go together. You trust people who tell you the truth. You don’t trust people if you don’t think they’re telling you the truth. And if you don’t believe in absolute truth, then you can’t trust anyone to tell you the truth. Our lack of trust causes us tremendous stress in life. We were born to trust. God wired us with the capacity and desire to trust in something greater than ourselves, because he wanted us to have a relationship with him. If you don’t trust God, then you will create something else to trust. It may be a diploma on the wall, money in the bank, your spouse, your career, or a hobby. This desire to trust in something larger than ourselves is nothing new. The biblical writers were keenly aware of it in their cultures as well. The Bible says in Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (NIV). The Bible has a word for whatever we place our trust in rather than God. The Bible calls it an “idol.” God’s Word says that, for our own good, we need to stay away from idols: “For your own good . . . do not sin by making for yourselves an idol in any form” (Deuteronomy 4:15-16 GNT). So, how can you know truth? You spend time reading and studying and meditating on Scripture. You learn what truth is by getting to know a person, Jesus Christ. As you do, you’ll find the most secure place for your trust and a foundation for life.
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“For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does.”
Psalm 33:4 (NLT) One of the great questions of life is, “Who are you going to trust?” The way you answer this question will determine whether you’re happy or miserable, whether you succeed or fail, whether you make something of your life or waste your life. To determine who you should trust, ask yourself questions like these: Who always has your best interest in mind? Who will help you make important decisions? Who wants to see you succeed? Should you trust popular opinion? That may not be a good idea since it constantly changes. Should you trust celebrities who set the latest trends? Trends change, and fads fade. Should you make critical life decisions based on what you read on social media? Just because it’s online doesn’t mean it’s truly trustworthy or reliable. What about trusting yourself? The truth is, your emotions can lie to you. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV). When you live by your emotions, you can be easily manipulated by other people and by your changing moods. If you’re going to entrust your life and your future to someone or something, you better choose someone who has your best interest at heart, knows everything, is perfect, and will never lie to you. That kind of limits your options—to God. No one else is ever going to always tell you the truth. They’re going to shade it. They’re going to filter it. They’re going to make it sound nice. They may not tell you what you need to hear. But what you need to hear is the truth—because it is the truth that sets you free. Lies about yourself, others, the world, and how life really is will only keep you in bondage. And even though the truth will set you free, it may make you miserable at first. That’s why people don’t like the truth and often avoid it. You don’t want to hear that most of your problems were brought on by poor decisions. You don’t want to hear that your own stubbornness, ego, and insecurity cause the stress in your life, but it’s true. Psalm 33:4 says, “For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does” (NLT). God said it, and that settles it—whether or not you believe it. God isn’t waiting on your opinion to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong. If God says it, it’s true. Each day voices all around you are trying to get you to trust them. But there’s only one voice you can trust that will always have your best in mind. Trust God for your present and your future. He will never let you down. “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
Matthew 6:33 (NLT) If you want your life to turn from emptiness to overflowing, then give Jesus complete control of your life, including your career. An example of this is when Simon Peter let Jesus get into his boat so he could teach some people standing on the shore. The Bible says, “When [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon [Peter], ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets’” (Luke 5:4-5 NIV). Then the Bible says, “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink” (Luke 5:6-7 NIV). If you want your life to turn from emptiness to overflowing, you’ve got to get Jesus in your boat. What’s your boat? It’s how you make a living. Simon’s business was his boat because he was a fisherman. The boat represents your career, your profession, your job, just like it represented Simon Peter’s entire livelihood. What does it mean to have Jesus in your boat? It means you dedicate your career to God. I’m not talking about salvation here. You may have Jesus in your life, but have you given him control of your career? You’ve trusted him for salvation and serve faithfully in your church. But when you go back to work during the week, is Jesus who you trust in your job? Or do you put Jesus on the shelf? When Simon Peter gave his job to Jesus, he was blessed with incredible results. But don’t miss the sequence. We sometimes think, “God, make me really successful in business, and then I’ll serve you with the success.” Wrong! It’s the exact opposite. Peter first gave Jesus control of his job. Then Jesus blessed Peter’s job with enormous success. That’s the order. The Bible says in Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (NLT). When you want God to bless something, put him first in that area. You want God to bless your time? You give him the first part of every day. You want God to bless your money? You give him the first 10 percent of your income, no matter how small it is. You want God to bless your job? Give him control, no matter how successful you are. Get Jesus in your boat, and you’ll see your life turn from empty to overflowing. “For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does.”
Psalm 33:4 (NLT) One of the great questions of life is, “Who are you going to trust?” The way you answer this question will determine whether you’re happy or miserable, whether you succeed or fail, and whether you make something of your life or you waste it. Who always has your best interest in mind? Who will help you make decisions important to your life? Should you trust popular opinion? That may not be a good idea since it constantly changes. Should you trust celebrities who set the latest trends? Trends change, and fads fade. Should you make critical life decisions based on what you read on social media? Just because it’s online doesn’t mean it’s truly trustworthy or reliable. What about trusting yourself? The truth is, our emotions can lie to us. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV). When we live by our emotions, we can be easily manipulated by other people and by our changing moods. If you’re going to entrust your life and your future to someone or something, you’d better choose someone who has your best interest at heart, knows everything, is perfect, and will never lie to you. That kind of limits your options—to God. No one is ever going to always tell you the truth. They’re going to shade it. They’re going to filter it. They’re going to make it sound nice. They won’t tell you what you need to hear. But what you need to hear is the truth, because it is the truth that sets you free. Lies about yourself, others, the world, and how life really is only keep you in bondage. To be set free, you must have the truth. As has been said many times, the truth will set you free, but first it makes you miserable. We don’t like the truth. We don’t want to hear that most of the problems in our lives were brought on by poor decisions. We don’t want to hear that it’s our own stubbornness and ego and insecurity that cause the stress in our lives, but it’s true. Psalm 33:4 says, “For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does” (NLT). God said it, and that settles it—whether or not you believe it. God isn’t waiting on your opinion to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong. If God says it, it’s true. You can trust God. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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