Our Failure Is Often The Fault Of Our Support System

Quick, who is the first person you turn to when you are in trouble? Go with the first name that popped into your head. That is your strength. That person you turn to whenever you are in need of help is the strongest you will ever be in whatever situation you are facing. Does that fill you with confidence? If your rescuer is weak you will be weak but if he is strong you will be strong.

Think about it.

If you were stuck in a burning building, unable to help yourself, would you feel relief if the fireman who came to your rescue was 90 pounds of bones or 230 pounds of muscle?

If you were facing a battle with cancer, would you feel more confident if your doctor graduated with with minimum grades or within the top 1% percentile?

If you were facing a bully on the school ground, would you speak with greater conviction if your friend was Mr. Bean or Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Unfortunately most of us have yet to discover our true source of strength. We often rush to weaker sources, failing to receive what is ours for the asking. The kings of Judah were often like this. Those who sought for strength in allies, in their army, even in their idols, failed terribly because the source of their strength was weak. However, those who sought their strength in the Lord God Almighty were always victorious because they had found unlimited strength in his unfailing love:

For the king trusts in the LORD; 
   through the unfailing love of the Most High    he will not be shaken. (Psalm 21:7)

Too often we place our confidence in the wrong things and we fail. We place our confidence in the love of another person and they abandon us. We place our confidence in our bank account and investments but they dry up and are no more. We place our confidence in the wisdom of the aged, but they die and leave us alone. We turn to friends, to family but they fall short of what we need. Yet, those who put their confidence and hope in the Lord are never disappointed.

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. (Psalm 118:8-9)

Putting our hope and trust in the Lord is the single wisest thing we could do in our lives. Trust is a huge word and a mighty action. It is what we must do if we desire God to be our strength. The Word says:

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

I like how the psalmist put it:

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,    but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7)

So if you want to discover just how strong you are look to that which you turn to for strength. I pray that you will discover it is the Lord Jesus Christ, but if not, it is never too late to discover just how strong he is. Don't seek those things that will always fall short of your needs, instead trust in the unfailing love of he who has given us all things. Place you trust in the name of Jesus.