Don't Make the Flesh Your Strength

“Thus says the Lord:

‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man

    and makes flesh his strength,

    whose heart turns away from the Lord.

He is like a shrub in the desert,

    and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

    in an uninhabited salt land.

“’Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

    whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water,

    that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

    for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

    for it does not cease to bear fruit.’” (Jeremiah 17:5-8 ESV)

So, what is the message for us here? Our trust, our confidence, and our absolute loyalty and devotion should be given to God and not to human beings who are bound to fail us, many of whom are, in truth, our enemies, and who are not our friends, as they claim that they are. Now, if we are married, we are to be faithful to our marriages and to our marriage partners, and all of us are to obey those in positions of rule and authority over us, but with biblical exceptions. But even there, they are not to replace God.

I find that so many people in America, including many Christians, are looking to human beings to be their saviors, to solve their problems for them, to rescue them from the evils of this sinful world, and to make life better for them. But these men who they are looking to in order to make life better for them may be, in reality, the enemy, and not their “saviors.” They may be, and many are, “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” disguised as their friends, but who are, in truth, plotting much evil against them behind their backs.

So that is why the Scriptures teach us repeatedly to not put our trust in human beings, but to trust in the Lord, but not just because humans will fail us, and they may be our enemies disguised as friends, but because our trust must be in the Lord for our salvation, and for our help and healing and change for the better. We are not to put humans in the place of God. We are not to give humans our absolute trust and allegiance. But our dependency must be in the Lord, and we must look to him alone for our salvation.

And I am not speaking here of salvation merely in the biblical sense of being rescued out of our slavery to sin, but salvation in the sense of being rescued from our enemies, or from our perceived enemies. For some people who we are told are our enemies, are not our real enemies, but while our true enemies disguise themselves as our friends. So, our enemies are not always those who are strangers to us, but they can be the enemies in our own homes, and in our church fellowships, and within our own governments.

So, don’t put your trust in humans to save you from anything. And don’t trust everything that anyone says, no matter who they are or who you think they are. Remember that one of Jesus’ 12 disciples was Judas, who betrayed Jesus to death while he pretended to be his friend and close companion. For liars and deceivers and manipulators abound these days within our governments, in our news media, in people in positions of power and influence, within the church gatherings, and even in our own homes.

So make it your practice to test every spirit to see if it is of God. And the spirit is the character and nature of a person. And we are to test the words of people against the teachings of the Scriptures, in context, and in prayer, seeking the Lord for discernment and wisdom. And if we find no fault, we should give people the benefit of the doubt, but we should not ever give anyone our absolute trust and faith and hope and confidence, because anyone could turn on us, and against us, who we thought was for us.

Then put your absolute and total trust in the Lord in all things, and pray for him to lead you to truth and to expose to you the lies of the enemies. And follow him wholeheartedly wherever he leads you in doing whatever it is that he wants you to do in service to him. Walk in obedience to his commands in holy living, and no longer walk in conduct in sin, making sin your practice. And you will be blessed, and God will make you a blessing to others when you follow him and his leading in your life in doing what he has for you.

[Psalms 118:9; Psalms 146:3; Psalms 147:10-11; Isaiah 40:23; Jeremiah 17:5-6; Hosea 8:4; Hosea 13:10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9,18-23; 1 Corinthians 7:23; Galatians 1:10; Galatians 2:12; Ephesians 4:14-16; Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 2:8,20-23; Colossians 3:23-24; 1 Thessalonians 2:3-8; 1 Peter 4:1-5; 2 Peter 3:17-18] 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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