I was thinking about how many cars and trucks I have owned during my life. I started with a 1964 Chevy Nova II. I then moved to a Ford Falcon and then a VW Bug … and the list continues from there. I tried to count, but I ran out of fingers, and I did not want to take my shoes off. We have had multiple vehicles that we have driven, but they all had one thing in common. Whether Ford, or Chevy, or Dodge, or Plymouth, or Renault, or (this could go on for quite a while) … all of them either broke down or needed constant maintenance.
Here in the state of Pennsylvania we have a yearly inspection that is required. Each year it seems that we need brakes, or lights replaced, or new tires, or something. I need oil changes, and transmission fluid to be replaced, or wiper blades. The bottom line is that I need my vehicles, and life is much easier with them than it would be without them; but they are a constant reminder that nothing on earth lasts forever … but is that true?
Today I read a great verse! “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). The chariot and horse of David’s day were the Ford or Chevy of our day. Things associated with power and need in David’s day he found to fail. The things we place our confidence in, and trust in today, will fail us as well. There was one thing that David could depend upon, and we can as well today. The name of the Lord our God did not fail David, and it will not fail us.
This verse is not about chariots, horses, Ford’s, or Chevy’s. It is about where we place our dependence for the strength and security that we need each day. Just like my cars have failed me, or needed constant repair, David found that the things that represented man’s power in his day also failed. In my own ministry I had become somewhat dependent on technology. I did not teach, or preach without having a computer, with PowerPoint, or Keynote to accompany it. I had gotten used to using these things (and there is nothing wrong with these things) as a crutch to get the message across to people.
I have noticed that when I have none of those things, but only have a Bible, and people who will listen, that God shows up and does His work. Sometimes I believe we depend far too much on the “things” around us, and not nearly enough on the Lord above us. Today I want to encourage you with the thought that if you have the Lord in your heart, you will be able to accomplish everything He had in mind for you for this day!