Whom do you trust?

Another week and it seems there is more unrest in the world than ever before. Rioting in France and now in the UK as a new Prime Minister takes over replacing the conservative party with the more liberal labor party. And last but not least the chaos and misinformation surrounding the coming election in the US as both parties will be going head to head in the next few weeks. It is very possible we could see the same unrest here around election time.

The Book of Jeremiah is one of the most powerful and direct books of the bible. It has many pieces of Godly wisdom laced in with the correction of God’s people. One of the most quoted verses in Jeremiah is Jeremiah 17:9

9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

It Goes on to say that God searches the heart and rewards each man according to their deeds.

A high level of wisdom in itself that even our own heart where our feelings and desires live cannot be trusted. God has to search our hearts and bring out the truth from it by correcting us in various ways. When this was written Jeremiah was addressing Judah in captivity where then many leaders in Judah were compromising and looking for ways to promise a better future without God’s direction. A really bad call.

What is often not talked about is what comes before Jeremiah 17:9 where he shows us where to put our trust:

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,

  who draws strength from mere flesh

  and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

 6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;

  they will not see prosperity when it comes.

 They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,

  in a salt land where no one lives.

7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

  whose confidence is in him.

 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water

  that sends out its roots by the stream.

 It does not fear when heat comes;

  its leaves are always green.

 It has no worries in a year of drought

  and never fails to bear fruit.”

The scripture shows us that nobody should trust in man because they will be cursed. Cursed itself is a very strong word. It is usually associated with the act of a person going to Hell in scripture. It shows that no matter what, if you put your trust in a person you will likely suffer greatly for that. It can come in many ways. Trusting in a person or even one’s own abilities is idol worship too. One thing that you have to understand is that even the best people can be disappointing at times. Nobody but Jesus Christ ever walked the earth perfectly.

Throughout time leaders were installed in countries where it seemed they would change it for the better. Only to have it turn catastrophic in the end. Russia, Germany, Poland, Romania, Panama, Haiti, Philippines, Egypt, Iraq, Venezuela,and Afghanistan are just some of the countries in recent memory where this has happened. They went from beginning in hope to complete breakdown and lawlessness in only a few years.

A recent book that came out called Shepherds for hire showed several church leaders in the US who have been influenced by the liberal leadership of the US to take liberal views. This included changing biblical views on marriage and abortion. They did so in exchange for clout and money and are now being exposed for this.

Most people feel that the person who represents their ideology will save their country; this has been proven not to be so in those who only follow themselves and their ideas of leadership. Countries only prosper when the leadership puts God first. In this present day and age that possibility seems more unlikely as every election passes in nearly every country.

So if our leadership does not put God first we should make every effort to do so in our own lives and never waiver. We don’t know where these changes in leadership will go but rest assured as we have been talking about, God is in control and knows what needs to be done for our benefit. That also includes our correction. Sometimes it’s a need to see things completely in shambles like it was for Judah in Jeremiah’s time in order to turn people back to their God. For this world we know that it is inevitable with the future return of Jesus Christ.

Happy Sabbath!

Your brother in Christ,

Steve Koenig