25
On Whom Do You Trust?
| Bro Gaius Egwu (Ohafia, Nigeria)
R
abshakeh, a spokesman for the king of
Assyria, said to the men of Judah, “Now on
whom dost thou trust?” (2 Kings 18:20).
Rabshakeh told them they could not trust in
Egypt to help them, nor could they trust in the
Lord their God. Things did actually look very
dark for the people of Jerusalem. The ques-
tion was very good: who or what were they
trusting in? The Assyrians were trusting in their
past victories and in the number of their
soldiers. They placed God on the same level
as the heathen gods which had not saved other
nations. They trusted in themselves and their
own idols. The Assyrian king sent a message to
Hezekiah, mocking him and his trust in the
true God. Hezekiah prayed to God asking Him
to deliver him from this powerful enemy. God
heard his prayer and that night He sent an
angel into the camp of the Assyrians and smote
185,000 of them. What remained of the
Assyrian army left the next day.
To trust is to have a firm reliance on the
integrity, ability or character of a person
or thing. The Bible says, “Trust in the Lord
with all thine heart and lean not unto thine
own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). We are
to place our reliance on God alone. Too often
we find ourselves leaning on our own
understanding. We trust in our past accom-
plishment, thinking that we will be able to do
the same in the next hard time. Too often we
find ourselves trusting in our own abilities or
position. On whom do you trust?
Those of us writing for ‘Gospel News’, those
of us in the mission field, and all growing up
in ecclesias, must trust God for understanding
and wisdom. Teachers/elders must trust in
God for strength and wisdom every day, not in
years of experience and their own abilities.
Parents must trust in God for patience and
understanding to direct their families in the
right way. Anything we do as a result of leaning
on our own understanding will not have God’s
blessing.
• No matter what we are seeing around us,
we should say: “Commit thy way unto the
Lord; trust also in him and he shall bring it to
pass” (Psalm 37:5)
• No matter the terrorism in Nigeria: “What
time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm
56:5). “Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in
the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength”
(Isaiah 26:4).
• Work for no pay in the crisis in Nigeria:
“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of
trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in
Him” (Nahum 1:7). Now, on whom do you
trust? Is there enough oil in your lamp?
~ continued ...