Prevailing Strategies: Trust not in Man

Adam trusted God to lead him. Eve trusted Adam to lead her. Adam trusted Eve to follow him. Eve trusted the Serpent’s lies that the forbidden fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of good and evil will make her like God. After eating the food, she saw it was good for food, It didn’t make her feel any special or godlike in any way because she was already like God. She offered the fruit to Adam, and Adam ate the fruit out of trust. Adam lost eternal life immediately. The placement of trust in any entity other than God is a recipe for disaster. Adam should have trusted in Only God. Eve should have trusted in Only God. They both should have been conscious of the fact that they do not know enough to trust each other completely. We all should note this truth, no man or woman knows enough to deserve our complete trust, even the most well-meaning person does not know enough to be trusted completely

“It is better to trust in the Lord than put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than put confidence in princes.” Psalm 118:8-9

When it comes to health, some people are quick to run to the doctor for help, as though doctors were better than God at medicine. For the most part, it’s easier for them to diagnose infections and diseases than to come up with cures. The best doctors get tired of cases, especially the ones that have defied all medical solutions. When they’ve done all, they know to do and there’s no cure they tell the patient, “Go home and rest.” That, in other words, means, “There’s nothing more we can do for you.” You can’t afford to place all your hope in doctors, or any kind of medication; their help will only last for a while. Rather, place your hope in the Lord Who alone created the whole universe. Jesus cannot fail. He said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Luke 21:33). In other words, He doesn’t have the ability to fail. He said, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). His Word can effect changes in your body.

Thank God, He gave us a Name that is greater than any other name; at the sound of that Name, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11). With this Name, we conquer every demonic force that rules the system of this world. Therefore, strengthen your trust in the Lord and in the power of His mighty Name.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God (Psalm 20:7).

2 Chronicles 14-16 tells us about Asa, King of Judah, who did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord and to obey the law and the commandment, and his kingdom was at peace. Once, Zerah, the Ethiopian King, invaded Judah with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots. Asa cried out to the Lord for supernatural intervention. The Bible says, “So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled” (2 Chronicles 14:12). Remarkable!

In the 36th year of his reign, another event occurred. Baasha, the King of Israel, made hostile threats against Judah. But this time, instead of seeking the Lord, King Asa sought a military alliance with BenHadad, the King of Syria. He took silver and gold from the treasuries of the temple and the royal palace and sent them as gifts to the Syrian king. The King of Israel abandoned his plans, but the Lord was displeased with King Asa. God sent a prophet to him to remind him of how He (God) intervened when he fought against a million soldiers from Ethiopia and other lands. Instead of listening to the message from God, the king was angry with the prophet, and he began to oppress the people.

Two years later, Asa developed a severe disease in his feet for which he sought the help of physicians, not the Lord (2 Chronicles 16:12). Can you imagine that? After thirty-five years of a wealthy, successful and productive reign, he turned his back on God. Now, he had enough money to pay mercenaries and physicians. Sadly, he died of that disease two years later. The Bible specifically tells us that the reason Asa died of that disease wasn’t because the disease was deadly, but because Asa refused to seek the Lord (2 Chronicles 16:12). That’s a major problem with some people today; they trust so much in their wealth and riches and have lost sight of who truly matters in their affairs, because they think it’s all about money. Never let anything take your attention away from the Lord. Let the Holy Spirit have pre-eminence in your life. Make it a principle for yourself, and one to live by, that you’ll trust the Lord only and always.

One day, as I studied the Bible, some thoughts went through my mind. I pondered, “If the Lord really does know everything, that means He knows tomorrow.” Then again, I thought, “Since He knows the future, then He knows everything I’ll ever do, say, think, and everywhere I’ll ever go.” Now, all that while, I was meditating on the Scriptures and having this soliloquy. The result was, I realized that the Lord could actually see in my tomorrow or in the future if I’m going to do or say something that’s not right. And since He already knows, He can fix things ahead for me. Then I said, “Lord, since you know my tomorrow, can you effect some corrections ahead before I ever get there?” Interestingly, He wasn’t quiet about it, and He didn’t reprimand me either for having all those thoughts. Rather, He said to me, “You’re right; I can do it if you want me to.” This reveals how truly kind and gracious He is. We can, and should, actually trust Him with our future. Imagine that you have a child crawling on the floor, and you can see something dangerous in front of him, and you know the child is going to pick it up. Surely, you’re going to go ahead of the child to eliminate that danger. If you’d do that, how much more our heavenly Father! That’s one of the reasons you can trust God to lead you. If you trust Him with your future, He’ll direct your path. If you trust Him, He’ll go ahead of you, and fix things. He can change anything for your good, for your advantage. Even if you’ve gone in the wrong direction all your life, if you’d embrace Him today, He’ll make everything right. He can create a new destiny for you. He’s God Almighty!

Not only does He know everything about you, but He also knows everything about life. The future belongs to Him; He made it; without Him, there’s no future. Put yourself, therefore, into His guiding arms, under His Lordship, for His Lordship is the lordship of love. Trust Him without reservation, and He’ll make your life beautiful; He’ll lead you in glory and excellence, to fulfil your destiny in Him.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

In a world filled with imperfect human systems, it’s crucial to shift our trust from these fallible structures and wholly trust in the Lord. The failures and limitations of human systems serve as reminders to us that our ultimate trust should be in the One who is completely reliable, the LORD!

Some time ago, news aired of a man who was planning to sue his state government for being wrongfully convicted. He endured 37 long years in prison for a crime he never committed. It’s truly disheartening to think about it. There’re others who have remained behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit because of the failure and inadequacies of the system and their government. Humans naturally feel the need to trust and depend on something or someone. We weren’t designed to be faithless; we were meant to have faith or to be trusting. However, because humans are fallible, systems run by individuals are also prone to failure. It makes no difference how lofty or robust you think the systems and structures of your nation or society are; they’re still fallible. Trust and rely on God alone. Follow and live by His Word.

Trust the principles, systems, and structures of the Kingdom.

The prophet Jeremiah, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote: “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD] and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8). Then in Psalm 37:3, the psalmist said, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” Cultivate absolute reliance on God instead of the frail or flawed human constructs. He never fails. He’s righteous and just, faithful and true. Trust Him wholeheartedly.

–GSW–