TRUST is a MUST! - Part Two
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.” Jeremiah 17:5 (KJV, emphasis mine)
As we continue to discuss the essential nature of trust in our relationship with God, let’s review a key point from last week’s blog. Whatever or whoever we trust more than God is an idol.
An IDOL is something that affects the following areas of your life:
Influence
Direction
Obedience
Love
All of the four characteristics of an idol will have an impact directly or indirectly on your relationships, resources, religion and reasoning.
For application purposes, let's say that your IDOL is your career. Your devotion to promotion is generated by the spirit of ambition and pride. This spirit will blind your need to invest spiritually and emotionally in your relationship with your Father in Heaven and the Lord Jesus, your spouse and your children. In addition, your mental and physical resources are overtly reserved for work. This, in turn, negates any quality and wholesome return for the glory of God. The workplace becomes your sanctuary; your job your act of worship. You rationalize your behavior by telling yourself that you are providing for your family and pursing your passion that you believe that God provided. In truth this is erroneous rationalization because you are ripping off God and your family. To be blunt, it is rationalized rebellion and irreverent worship given to your idol (work). Consequently, your employment has been exalted to an extremely egregious entity which enjoys enormous degree of influence and authority in your life. This is the result of a heart that has departed and divorced itself from his or her first Love. The most biblical and thereby accurate assessment of this condition is cursed!
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.” Jeremiah 17:5
A individual that is cursed possesses a heart that is deeply relying in the character, integrity and the ability of man or mammon (money). His natural intelligence and physical capacity cause his heart to process God in an unbiblical manner. We must have a divine disposition that drives us to be deliberate in our devotion to set a guard before our heart. To be negligent is this spiritual necessity will walk your heart into worldly worship.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (KJV, emphasis mine)
I close with five features of our heart which will either reveal a reverent relationship with God or a rebellious reliance on man and mammon.
Hear: To whom or what are you hearing or listening?
Embrace: You will embrace whoever has your ear most often.
Authority: What you choose to embrace becomes your authority.
Rely: Whom or what you have made an authority in your life will become that which you rely upon.
Truth: Whoever or whatever you choose to rely upon becomes your source of truth.
I encourage you to perform a personal evaluation and determine if there is anything or anyone other than God that has control of your heart. Remember that it is God’s heart that He has all of your heart in order to prevent the habit of trusting in your own heart.
For the Glory of God,
PBKSR