WHO YOU GOING TO TRUST?
Psalms 20:6-8 NKJ
6 Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8 They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright.
This is a psalm of David. The entire psalm has a note of victory about it. We don't know the context, but David is declaring the help and salvation of God.
I like it when David says, "Now I know that the Lord saves." The assurance that David has in God is one of his greatest strengths. His confidence in the Lord sustained him through many challenging times. I may deal with people saying unkind things, but David faced people trying to physically kill him. But David knew that the Lord would save him and answer him. David knew that the Lord would exert strength to save on his behalf.
Then David proclaims the source of his confidence. Some people trust in their chariots. Some trusted in the strength of their horses. In ancient warfare, chariots and horses would be like tanks and planes. The more, the better. And where most of the warfare was hand-to-hand, the army with the greatest weaponry advantage was usually the army that won. But chariots and horses were not where David placed his trust. He believed that God, the One who would save with the strength of His right hand, was the best advantage by far. David's faith in God was the secret to his bravery and willingness to face enemies and threats.
The ones who trusted chariots and horses bowed down and fell. But the ones who trusted in the Lord were the ones who had risen and stood upright. David certainly had his flaws, but one thing for sure was that he had a wonderful trust in God.
APPLICATION
This is such an important question. Where do we put our trust? We learn to trust our instincts, our skills, our abilities. Or we can put our trust in other people, our money, or retirement accounts. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of these things, but do we want to put our trust in them when things get tough? Many of these things that we trust are subject to external forces beyond our control. There will be times when money, skills, smarts, or other people will not be able to help. But learning to trust in God is such a stabilizing strength. It will not necessarily happen overnight, but over time, as we develop our relationship with the Lord, the trust will follow.
We can become stronger in our trust in God's Word. We can become stronger in our trust in the Holy Spirit. And we can become stronger in our trust in God's ability to move on our behalf. As with any good relationship, the stronger the relationship becomes, the stronger the trust. Good relationships are built on trust.
A very practical and proactive way to build trust is to tell the Lord that you trust Him. This becomes part of our relationship, but words can build, or words can destroy. Use your words to help build your trust in Him.
PRAYER
Lord, I trust You. I trust Your mercy and Your grace. I trust Your strength as I run my race. I will grow in trust until I see You face to face. You are my God, and I trust in You.