Monday, August 26, 2024
Hallelujah! My soul, praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing to my God as long as I live. Do not trust in nobles, in a son of man, who cannot save. When his breath leaves him, he returns to the ground; on that day his plans die. Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever, executing justice for the exploited and giving food to the hungry. The Lord frees prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord raises up those who are oppressed. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord protects resident aliens and helps the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. The Lord reigns forever; Zion, your God reigns for all generations. Hallelujah! Psalm 146:1-10
Worthy of Our Trust
Psalm 146, begins with praise to God and ends with praise, the first and last words being “Hallelujah.” Every word is praise to God and how He is worthy of our trust. Sometimes we are a little too free with our trust - except when it comes to God. We trust in all sorts of things we shouldn’t. We trust in people, or we trust in idols. We trust in social media posts or celebrities. Some of them may not be wrong, but do we trust in them more than we trust God? Anyone and anything that can be an idol to us if we put them above God.
What does this psalm teach us about God’s character and how we can trust Him above all?
We say we trust God. We like and share social media posts that encourage others to trust God. Yet do we really trust Him in our own lives? With our own families? With our own bank accounts? With our days? With our future? We take Him off the throne of our lives when love and trust other things and people over Him. We also take Him off the throne when we take control or when we give into fear, anxiety, or worry, giving them a seat on the throne.
If we want a God we can trust above all, we have to let Him be God above all. He is the only One worthy of our praise, and the only One worthy of all our trust – for all the reasons that another person or thing could ever fulfill.
The Lord is Maker and sustainer of all things. (vs. 6a)
The Lord is the One who “… remains faithful forever…” (vs. 6b)
The Lord is actively working on behalf of His people to set them free. (vs. 7-9a)
The Lord “…frustrates the ways of the wicked.”
All of these attributes of God that the Psalmist listed, God still does our lives today. If we believe we can trust Him, we will surrender all to Him. There is no person and no thing that would ever care for us like God always has and always will. We can trust Him with every need, desire, lament, loved one, or problem. When we trust Him, we will fully obey Him.
When we are fully focused on Him, giving thanks to Him in all things, how can we not trust Him? Is there an area of your life that you need to release and surrender to Him today? Let go and give it to Him. Let Him be the God on the throne of your life where He belongs. Give Him the praise and thanksgiving that He deserves today.
