TRUST IN GOD NOT YOURSELF!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JANUARY 19, 2024.

SUBJECT : TRUST IN GOD NOT YOURSELF!

Memory verse: "Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” (Second Corinthians 1 vs 9.)

READ: Jeremiah 17 vs 5 - 8:

17:5: Thus says the LORD; “Cursed be the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD.

17:6: For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

17:7: “Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the is LORD.

17:8: For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out her roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green; and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.

INTIMATION:

Trusting in God is relying, resting on the integrity of God; putting your confidence, hope, faith in God in all things. God is our constant help, and He desires it to be so. He made it so that we may depend on Him and will always come to Him. We often depend on our own skills and abilities when life seems easy and only turn to God when we feel unable to help ourselves. But as we realize our own powerlessness without God and our need for His constant help in our lives, we come to depend on Him more and more. God is our source of power, and we receive His help by keeping in touch with Him. With this attitude of dependence, problems will drive us to God rather than away from Him. Learn to rely on God daily.

In emphasizing our need to trust in God, rather than ourselves, Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15 vs 5.) We should not trust in ourselves but in God. The Bible speaks of "Trust in God" about forty five (45) times in the Scriptures. Therefore, there is no gain-saying the fact that trusting in God is key. And the confirmation, according to the Scriptures, is in the mouth of much more than two or three witnesses, hence it is thoroughly established.

This is not to say we should never make effort to achieve or accomplish anything in life, but our own efforts are never adequate. As believers, we are to put out an effort that is made through the grace of God at work in us. In other words, we don't attempt anything without asking for God's help. We lean on Him the whole way through each project. We maintain an attitude that says, "Apart from Him I can do nothing." "For by strength no shall shall prevail." (First Samuel 2 vs 9.)

We are not to be involved in natural, carnal efforts because the result is only fatigue and frustration, disappointment and destruction. But to completely lean on the grace of God to accomplish all our lives challenges. Failing to trust God often brings even greater problems than those we originally faced. When we run from God, we inevitably run into problems. He brought you this far and won’t let you down now. We can continue trusting God by remembering all He has done for us. 

God will never abandon those who seek Him. God’s promise does not mean that if we trust in Him we will escape loss or suffering; it means that God Himself will never leave us no matter what we face. Lack of trust in God always prevents us from receiving His best. The psalmist says in Psalm 18 vs 2, "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." 

In the passage we read today, the Scripture says, “ “Cursed be the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD.” (Jeremiah 17 vs 5). When you put your trust in yourself, rather than God, you are cursed. In contrast, those who trust in the Lord flourish like trees planted along a riverbank. In times of trouble, those who trust in human beings will be impoverished and spiritually weak, so they will have no strength to draw on. But those who trust in the Lord will have abundant strength, not only for their needs, but for the needs of others. 

Prayer: Abba Father, all powers belong to You. In You I put my trust. By Your strength I can do all things. Endue me with the spirit of complete dependence upon You in all things, knowing by You all things consist, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!