Trust In God Alone

TRUST IN GOD ALONE

a prayer to open

Here’s my heart, Lord. Speak what is true.

Here’s my life, Lord. Speak what is true.

Praise the LORD!

Let all that I am praise the LORD.

I will praise the LORD as long as I live.

I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;

there is no help for you there.

When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,

and all their plans die with them.

But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,

whose hope is in the LORD their God.

He made heaven and earth,

the sea, and everything in them.

He keeps every promise forever.

He gives justice to the oppressed

and food to the hungry.

The LORD frees the prisoners.

The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.

The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down.

The LORD loves the godly.

The LORD protects the foreigners among us.

He cares for the orphans and widows,

but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

The LORD will reign forever.

He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.

Praise the LORD!

We put great hope in our politicians, teachers, pastors, and others with authority. And we can be greatly disappointed when they do not live up to our expectations. Often the pain we feel when they let us down reveals more about us than about them, revealing where we may have misplaced our hope. The author of this psalm instructs us not to put our trust in human beings but to place our trust in God alone. How might our lives be shaped if we remembered our authority figures’ humanity and frailty and placed our hope in God alone?

• Read this passage again slowly. What word or phrase stands out to you? Why do you think that word or phrase speaks to you? What does it say?
• Identify someone in authority who has let you down and caused you pain as a result. Were your expectations too high? Were they misplaced? If so, how? If not, how can you pray for that person in their humanity and frailty?
• What does it look like to place your trust and hope in God alone? Where have your expectations in people been misplaced most frequently? What might this reveal about your own heart?

I need your help, Lord. I can be tempted to place the full weight of my hope and expectations on human beings. Of course, they cannot bear such a burden and I am setting myself up for disappointment. Help me know how to respect and honor those in authority while acknowledging and being gracious about their humanity. Show me how to place my hope and trust in you and you alone. Amen.