Do you ever think about the things you put your trust in? The things we all depend on?

The other day my radiator in my car went out. Now, it had been acting up a little, "here and there". But for the most part, with a little bars leak (stop leak) and prayer, it was holding up.

Then last night on my way home the radiator gave way. At first I was a little annoyed. I panicked some and thought, "What am I going to do?" "I've got to go to work, how will I get there?" "I have to find someone to repair it, what will it cost me?"

Then the Lord arrested my heart and reminded me to ask for His help. Reminded me who He is (Psalm 46:10). I calmed down. He gave me peace. And God was good on His word. The next day I was able to get someone to work on it. My friend Matt picked me up for work. And my car was repaired by the end of the day. Not only that, but it cost much less than what I had expected.

A great blessing from God!

But all this made me think. How can I, how can any of us, put so much trust in the "things" of this world? Just like our cars, and yet we do not put the same trust in God.

Now, a few of you may be shaking your heads at me right now. Others may agree. Some of you may have never thought about this before. But lets all be honest. We are all, so guilty of putting our trust in material things! And not as much trust in our heavenly Father.

 ...And none of us hold the "monopoly" on this. We are all guilty!

Think about it. We trust our jobs to pay us. The money we receive to pay our bills. The electric company to provide the electricity for our homes. Our homes to shelter us from the rain. Our cars to take us to work and the store. Our cell phones to work when we pick them up. People that can fail us. From the government to govern us, to the police to protect us. We are all guilty of putting our trust in "fleeting" things!

 ...But can we honestly say we put the same trust in God?

When things fall part, do we put our hope, our trust in God? Or are we quick to doubt and question Him. His love and care for us, our well being.

It's amazing how we put our trust in things that we cannot really count on. Cars can break down. Companies that employ us, can close, lay off, move overseas, or dismiss us. Stock markets can crash. Money can be lost, or stolen. Governments can topple. People can cheat us, walk out on us. Material possessions can rust, wear out, be stolen, break. But yet, this does not stop us from putting our trust in "empty" things! We do it every day of our lives!!

And yet when we do not get our way with God? We "feel" He has failed us. We are ready to cut Him off! Right out of our lives! Hmmmmm...interesting isn't it? That not only do we trust in things that we really cannot count on. We are so "fickle".

You know, I think we forget that life is a fragile thing. That we are, but a "breadth":

 "Man is like a breath;
         His days are like a passing shadow."

             (Psalm 144:4 NKJV)

And it is God that sustains us. The creator of the universe! The one who made us:

"Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

                (Genesis 1:26 NKJV)

Yet, we forget this and we put our trust in everyday inanimate objects. And in people who are just as fallible as we are!

We forget that we have such an awesome God. Who loves and cares for us more, than we could ever imagine, or conceive.

Who has such wonderful and inconceivable things for us who love Him:

"But as it is written:


      “ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
      Nor have entered into the heart of man
      The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

                   (1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV)

But yet.....we forget this. Everyday of our lives. As we go about our business, counting on those things which cannot save us. Help us, make us any better, make us holy. More like Him. And when these things fail, we tend to blame Him! We think, "Lord if you love me this wouldn’t have happened". "Or Lord, why did this break down, you knew I had things to do".

But you know what? God is so gracious to us.

You see, sometimes He needs to let us "fall on our face". So that we can take a step back. And realize, who we are running this race for (Heb. 12:1-2)! And so we can remember, that He is where we put our trust (psalm 56:4). Not our jobs, our money, our homes, cars. Or even those we love that are close to us! Our friends. Nor those around us. Everything, and everyone can fail us!

Just as His word says:

"No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
         A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
  A horse is a vain hope for safety;
         Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength."

                 (Psalm 33:16-17 NKJV)

No one, and nothing! ...Except the One who loves us and gave His life for us!

You see God is the only "constant" we have in this world. And He loves us so very much. But yet we are all so guilty of taking Him and His love for us, for granted! And we forget that God did not have to love us. Yet, He chooses too. As "unlovable" as we can be!

You see, when my car broke down. All the things I had to do just "flooded" my mind. I knew I needed to pray and ask for His help. But I was focusing on the problem (and not the solution)! Perhaps not as much as I would have years ago, but enough. And I knew better!

Then when the Lord arrested my heart (got my attention). I prayed for His help. He gave me peace, the next day it was taken care of.

You know I felt a little ashamed in this. I realized that I put more trust in the things around me, than I do Him sometimes!

Now, this isn’t something anyone of us would like to admit too. But we are all guilty of this. The frequency of it? Only you and the Lord really know. But we can all "own" this one!

I think our lives get so sidetracked with the "things" of this world we forget about the fact that this whole world is held together by His word:

"For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."

                  (2 Peter 3:5-7 NKJV)

And that He controls all things, even the seasons:

"He sends out His command to the earth;
         His word runs very swiftly.
  He gives snow like wool;
         He scatters the frost like ashes;
  He casts out His hail like morsels;
         Who can stand before His cold?
  He sends out His word and melts them;
         He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow."

               (Psalm 147:15-18 NKJV)

And He promised to take care of us:

 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

"Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

                 (Matthew 6:25-34 NKJV)

So the next time your riding in your car. At your job. You just received your paycheck. Your paying your bills. Your sitting in your house and it's raining outside. You just got off your cell phone. Ask yourself this. "Do I put more trust in these things, than I do in my God?"

After all, if it is God's word that holds all in place, created all things. Who's really in control? The Creator, or the created thing.

Something to think about perhaps?