This is what the LORD says:
“The man who trusts in mankind,
who makes human flesh his strength
and turns his heart from the LORD is cursed.”
– Jeremiah 17:5
The Israelites of Jeremiah’s day believed they could trust in their army, the diplomacy of their king, and their foreign alliances to protect them from the powerful Babylonian empire. They gave lip service to their trust in God, but their actions showed where their faith really was: in their military and financial might. God spoke through Jeremiah to warn them that He would not bless those who trusted in anyone or anything instead of Him.
Placing your ultimate trust in anything other than God is idolatry. How can you know if your faith is not truly in God? Ask yourself these questions: Where do I turn when I experience a crisis? When I am hurting or afraid, to whom do I go? When I have a financial problem, whom do I want to tell first? Where do I seek comfort when I am under stress or discouraged?
Could it be that you are saying you trust in God but your actions indicate otherwise? God often uses other people as His method of providing for you. Be careful lest you inadvertently misdirect your faith toward His provision instead of toward the Provider. God may meet your need through your friends, but ultimately your trust must be in God.
The Israelites were so stubbornly committed to trusting in human strength instead of God that, even as the Babylonian army approached Jerusalem, they continued to desperately seek for a person, or a nation, or an army that could rescue them. They realized too late that they had neglected to trust in the only One who could deliver them.
Don’t make the same mistake as the Israelites. Go straight to the Lord when you have a need. He is the only One who can provide for you.
Excerpts republished with permission from Experiencing God Day by Day by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby c. 1997 B&H Publishing Group.
Amen! Sometimes I seem to run to my friends for help or encouragement…I am working on Crying out to Him first and openeing my bible. Thank you for this :)
Amen, we share the same sins ancient Israel did, we trust in ourselves and not the Lord. I once made the statement that if I had a headache I took an aspirin and if that didn’t work I prayed about it. The Holy Spirit nearly knocked me down over that, it hurt my heart and revealed just how much I was sinning against God everyday in such simple ways.