“Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.” (Psalm 146:3 NIV)
Trust God. The only One who will never let you down is God. He’s your savior, not people. He won’t disappoint you. He will always listen. He always shows up. He hardly ever does what you think He should do, how He should do it, or when. But you can put your trust in Him completely. God knows best.
Man, on the other hand, is another story. As trustworthy as I like to think I am, I’m not as trustworthy as God. I try not to say anything about someone I wouldn’t say to them. When a friend tells me not to tell anyone, I do my best to honor their wishes. But I’ve faltered. I’ve succumbed to my human emotions and said things in the heat of the moment I shouldn’t. I have plenty of these regretful moments in my past. When I think of one of them, I cringe. I not only disappointed God, I disappointed myself. I’m human, perfect is not a word found in the definition of humanity. If you want perfect, trust God, not man.
Trust God not man.
The beauty of trusting God, not man, is we take the pressure off our loved ones. For instance, I don’t expect my husband to meet all of my needs. I never have, because I’m not supposed too. Making my husband responsible for meeting all my needs is setting him up for failure. He simply can’t, expecting him too is putting too much pressure on him. I definitely do not want him to expect me to meet all of his needs, I know I can’t.
By not placing our trust in humans to save us, we’re giving them freedom. If we aren’t expecting perfection, we are able to embrace people’s imperfections. We don’t have to let people “off the hook,” because we never put them on it in the first place. If we don’t expect the people in our lives to save us, we won’t get mad at them when they don’t. Instead, we can enjoy the person God created. We can help them find His purpose in their lives. We can share their journey, rejoicing when they rejoice, weeping when they weep.
Human beings cannot save. God is the only savior:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)
Let people off the hook. Don’t expect people to do for you what only God can do. Let people be people, let God be God. Once we understand the difference in their roles, knowing who to trust is easier. Trust God, not man.
Question of the Day:
Who are you expecting to save you?
Further Reading: 2 Kings 13:1-14:29 NIV, Acts 18:23-19:12 NIV, Psalm 146 NIV, Proverbs 18:2-3 NIV
