Online Devotions: Where Do You Put Your Trust?

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Where Do You Put Your Trust?

March 11 (Psalm 20:7)

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. (ESV)

We often tell teenagers to begin building a good resume. We tell them to get involved with sports or music, to serve in the community, and to take part in extracurricular activities so they will have a resume that looks good to scholarship committees and college admission boards. I would ask what in the name of God we are doing, but whatever it is, it is not in the name of God. We are training our children at an early age to put their hopes for the future in their accomplishments today. We are teaching them to trust in chariots and horses.

It is true, of course, that a high G.P.A. can help a student gain admission to college just as surely as your high productivity last quarter can help you secure a promotion. This is the way the world works. Yet when we begin to live and die first by our transcripts and then later by our profit and loss statements, we go quickly astray, and at the end of the day, deep in your heart of hearts, you know that such things really do not matter. They really don’t.

When you approach a task with confidence, is it confidence based on your resume or on the character of your Lord? When you fear what is coming toward you, is it because you don’t think you have what it takes or because you don’t think God does? A good look at our confidence and our fear will show us where we actually put our trust.

It amazes me sometimes, Lord, how much I am actually depending on my own strength and abilities rather than on You. Honestly, most of the day I live as if everything were up to me. Help me to rely less on my talents, even though You have given them to me, and more directly on You. I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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History of Online Devotions

In January of 1999, I began the Online Devotions with the teens of the church we were attending. Each week they would receive a verse of Scripture, a short reflection, and a prayer. Over the years others subscribed to this email list, and soon the Online Devotions were going out to people across the country and beyond.

In 2007 I published in book format a collection called Desert Days: Forty Devotions for Men.

After suggestions from several readers, I launched in 2010 the Online Devotions blog. Devotions are still available each week by email, and if you would like to subscribe, please indicate so in the comment box.

As I have always said, if one of these devotions touches you, you can be sure it was from God. If one leaves you flat, then there was too much of me in it.