What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. [Isaiah 31:1 (NLT)]
Look! Don’t be deceived by appearances – men and things are not what they seem. All who are not on the rock are in the sea! [William Booth]
Built by her husband’s grandfather in the 1920s, my friend’s house was filled with much of the original furniture. Many pieces (like the restored grand piano) were valuable antiques but decades of use had taken their toll on others. Although the beautiful little mahogany side chair looked solid, a note saying “Broken—do not use” rested on it. Pretty as it was, the chair was useless and an invitation to disaster. Should the warning go unnoticed, some unknowing person could end up sprawled on the floor surrounded by splintered wood.
Some people depend on things as fragile as that broken chair—things like wealth, career, appearance, possessions, power, contacts, or fame. While at first glance, they may look solid and dependable, such things can’t be trusted and, like that chair, can shatter and collapse when most needed. Our circumstances can change in an instant and what we depended on yesterday may not be there tomorrow.
The Hebrew Scriptures are filled with stories showing the danger of putting our faith in the wrong things. Rather than relying on the truth of God’s word, Adam and Eve depended on Satan’s lies; after eating the forbidden fruit, they were evicted from Eden. Abraham and Sarah depended on their plan instead of God’s promise to give them a son. Sadly, the Middle East continues to suffer from their foolishness. Having placed faith in his own wisdom, riches, and power rather than the Lord, Solomon’s kingdom was divided after his death.
When Israel’s King Hoshea formed an alliance with Egypt instead of trusting God, he ended up imprisoned, his people in exile, and Samaria in ruins. When Judah trusted Assyria instead of God, they ended up paying tribute to them for 35 years. Slow learners, when they finally rebelled, rather than trusting in God, they appealed to Egypt for military aid. Today’s verse is Isaiah’s warning that Pharaoh was weak and undependable. In the end, it was God, not Egypt, who came to Judah’s rescue. Both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah suffered for their dependence on idols, other nations, and themselves rather than God; we will, too.
Putting our confidence in the weakness of man and the fragility of things rather than the power of God is like trusting a rickety antique chair; as attractive as it appears, it will collapse eventually and we’ll be left to pick up the shattered pieces. As for me, I’d rather depend on a God who is strong, steadfast, and indestructible than on anything or anyone else! Ours is a rock-solid God who won’t fail us, no matter how much weight we place on Him.
On whom or what do you rely? Is it reliable…as reliable as God?
When we dare to depend entirely upon God and do not doubt, the humblest and feeblest agencies will become mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds. [A.B. Simpson]
Jeremiah 29 consists of two letters written by the prophet to the exiles in Babylon. The first (29:1-28) was sent to the recently deported elders, priests, and prophets as well as to King Jehoiachin, his mother, and the officials, craftsmen, and artisans who’d been taken as Nebuchadnezzar’s captives several years earlier. Countering the message of the false prophets promising a quick return to Jerusalem from Babylon, Jeremiah bluntly told the exiles that Israel’s captivity would last seventy years. This was unwelcome news and, preferring to believe comforting lies rather than the painful truth, people accused Jeremiah of being crazy and a false prophet. The second letter in this chapter addresses one of his accusers.
After feeding a multitude with little more than a handful of food, Jesus sent the disciples across the Sea of Galilee to Bethsaida. He stayed behind to send the people home and then, exhausted, went into the mountains to pray. During the fourth watch (somewhere between 3:00 and 6:00 AM), Jesus looked out at the water and saw that the disciples were struggling against the wind and waves to keep the boat on course. Seeing their distress, he walked on the water toward them. Seeing Him walking on water, they thought Him a ghost and cried out in terror. Phantoms of the night were said to bring disaster and it was thought that the last thing a boatman saw before drowning in Galilee was a ghost on the water! It’s no wonder they were frightened at first.
When I first started reading the psalms, I suspected David might have been bi-polar—his highs seemed so high and his lows so very low; now I understand that he was just being truthful. In his psalms, David unabashedly expressed his deepest feelings to God. Pouring out his soul, he openly shared his emotions—whether anger, disappointment, sorrow, regret, shame, joy, love, fear, doubt, or even his desire for vengeance upon his enemies. No matter how troubled he was, David never was afraid to speak from his heart. I’m not sure we are willing to be as vulnerable and straightforward in our prayers as was David.
In Psalm 23, the King James version translates the original Hebrew “gay tsalmaveth” as “valley of the shadow of death.” A more accurate translation, however, would be a dark valley or a valley of death-like darkness. While people often associate this psalm with death, it uses the metaphor of sheep and their shepherd and sheep have no concept of death. But, because of their near-sightedness and poor depth perception, they are reluctant to move into dark places. Nevertheless, whether referring to the unknown, danger, or even death, David’s words are ones of comfort and hope to all who read them—we are not alone as we travel through the dark valleys of life.
Several years ago, I purchased a beautifully drawn coloring book featuring scenes from the Colorado mountain town that had been part of our lives for thirty-five years. Since it was a gift for one of my grands, I asked the artist to sign the book. She added these words to her signature: “Don’t be afraid to color outside the lines!” Was the artist’s advice limited to her book or was it about something more?
Devotions of the Heart 