Whom Do You Trust?
Scripture Reading: Psalm 146:3-7
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.
In the text, there is no hint that it is wrong to be involved in a political process, to run for office, or to vote for a particular candidate. That is not the point. The warning is against putting your faith in the wrong place.
In the few verses I quoted, the writer uses three words to describe the spirit he is talking about - Trust, help, and hope. If you are trusting a man to save you (here he is not talking about the salvation of the soul in an eternal sense, but salvation from worldly problems), if you are looking to a political party for your help, or if your hope is based on who wins an election you are setting yourself up for major trouble.
In the coming days, if your preferred candidate or party comes out on top you might be elated and think all of your problems are solved. But the fact that you put all your hope eggs in that basket only reveals a deeper spiritual problem and you will miss the blessedness described in verse five.
If, on the other hand, your desired election outcomes are not achieved, your heart will be dashed upon the rocks of an electoral failure. You will feel as if all is lost. Again, you will simply be exposing that your faith was never in the right person to begin with.
It is not that these things don’t matter, but that they aren’t and never should be the ground of our hope and faith.
Hope and trust in the Lord and you will neither be overly elated about an election victory nor emotionally deflated by a loss because no matter what the outcome is, you know Jesus still reigns, and He is still your source of life in every sense of the word.
Much needed message!