Trust Not

Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

Psalm 146:3

***

I once was acquainted with a man who pitched his entire life into dreams of retirement, beginning on Day One of his career. His personal plans escalated to the degree that everything in life hinged upon his sixty-fifth birthday party. Then, and only then, would real life begin.

Retirement was his saving prince.

He grew ill and died many years before reaching it, with decades spent wasted. Those retirement plans ruled his heart. God did not.

There is no salvation there.

***

I once knew a woman who was exquisitely beautiful. She worked religiously, spending copious amounts of money to soften her face and chisel her physique. It worked, for a time, by way of expensive creams and even botox injections. She was part of our large mothers’ group, and on our fun and noisy outings, while the rest of us shared our drippy ice cream cones with our toddlers, she wrinkled her nose, shunning dessert as though it was the plague. A cold diet beverage forever in hand, she stayed quite slim and perfectly tanned but remained perpetually anxious, distracted, and obsessed with the anti-aging battle.

It consumed her and exhausted others.

Here’s the truth: she eventually aged.

Of course she did—we all do. As her slim body plumped then sagged, as wrinkles formed around her mouth and eyes, her heaviness of spirit sunk her to the depths of despair as her relentless preoccupation with appearances was found to be a pirate and not a prince.

Her security crutch splintered and shattered. Physical beauty had vanished, and she was left with the knowledge that she had spent decades trusting in fleeting things.

There is no salvation there.

***

There once was a man who bought houses to flip, growing greedy as his bank account fattened. He was consumed with a drive for wealth and finery, but when the stock market plummeted, he was left penniless, overnight. First, he grew enraged, and then he grew despondent, and finally? Suicidal.

The prince of wealth is shaky and feeble.

There is no salvation there.

***

Trust not in princes.

Or family

or friends

or jobs

or ideas

or trinkets

or popularity

or beauty

or wealth

or positions

or houses

or vacations

or cars

or romance

or work

or retirement

or youth

or old age

or angels

or dreams

or goals.

When blessed by earthly goodness, thank God for His plan and trust only in Him.

When speared by trial and suffering, thank God for His plan and trust only in Him.

Anchor your faith in God, the Author of Salvation.

He is the Master, painting every speck of our lives, brushing our canvas days with strokes of measured purpose. God is never the author of random, haphazard paint-splattered messes.

Put not your trust in princes but in God, who holds salvation in his hands.

***

If you have been trusting in princes, you are not alone. I, too, have done this very thing. Princes as in actual people. Burned once, twice, three times, and more. Those I imagined might save me, speared me.

Et tu, Brute?

It was God’s kindness to allow this, I tell you now, with the startling clarity called hindsight. A searing lesson on repeat.

A lesson that goes something like this:

The cavalry is not ruling and reigning and coming to save the day, Kristin. Look to God as your Shield and Defender. Not the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. People hold no power to save.

There is no human cavalry.

It is God who rescues.

I am still surprised by my slowness to embrace this lesson, and equally surprised by God’s patience with me.

He severed those stubborn cords of idolatry beyond repair. The hurt was fierce. It burned, stung, and was chased by the phantom pains of amputation, which lingered for a time.

I admittedly floundered, much like a small, sinking boat in the heart of the deep, wind-tossed ocean. I flailed in swirling, shark-infested waters, and my feet could not find solid footing without succumbing to the depths and drowning. But Christ Jesus pulled me to the safety of himself and strengthened me with the Bible.

Christ is my anchor, and Scripture is my soul-feast.

I trust God alone. He is my everything.

Is he yours?

***

Psalm 118:8-9:

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in man.
 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes.