Human confidence is vanity. This saying has been in use for years. I remember using this time without number during my high school days. Surprisingly, this is relevant today.Also, this is true to the word of God. In Psalms 118:8 – the Bible says “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” Micah 7:5(a) further says “Trust ye not in a friend…” If God says it, you had better beware!
A lot of us have experienced one form of disappointment or the other. In actual sense, there are some of us that have stories of disappointment by people they held in high esteem. We have been dribbled, kicked to the curve, slandered, and swindled by people. Unfortunately, these were folks we trusted and respected. David, the son of Jesse was once a victim of vain trust like us.
David was a young active shepherd who loved God right from his youth. He was a young man God used to shake off the disgrace that enveloped Israel in the days of Saul the son of Kish, the king of Israel. He became a hero for defeating the chief warrior of the Philistines, Goliath of Gath.
Perhaps we need to flash back at what God did through David. He was on an errand to his brothers who were in the war front with the Philistines. Jesse, his father, instructed him to check on his three brothers and give them some edibles. Far beyond what the message was, David got there and inquired of the war. He saw a giant and asked about him credentials. This giant was a torn in the flesh of the Israelites (1 Samuel 17: 17-18). When he heard of the ruthless heavy weight, he could not swallow the bitter response. He responded by asking what the king had in stock for whoever could defeat this enemy and win victory for Israel. The Bible says “And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” The rest became history (Samuel 17:49-52).
David fought Goliath, the commander of the Philistine army and God won the war for Israel through him, but sadly, he was not appreciated by Saul the king. In its stead, Saul resorted to pursuing David to take his life (1 Samuel 19:1). He made several attempts to kill David, but he failed.
More than once, I have heard friends and relatives talk about the greatest disappointment of their lives from their siblings, parents of close relatives. In many of these, the disappointment was to do with entrusting a project to them and later becoming a loser. I heard of a lady who once faced a scam perpetrated by her covetous senior brother. She engaged her brother in building a house for her family in Africa. She missed it! She eventually lost the project to him. Even though her brother completed the project she financed with her family’s hard-earned dollars, she never had the opportunity to own the house, even for a day. Though her brother actually built the house, but every document (possible aside from the land document) was in his name. Right from the very day the project started, her brother must have had a differing opinion about the ultimate ownership. He knew what he was going to do, despite his sister’s plea to him to be faithful. Her sister must have paid her on the side to supervise the construction, but this was not enough. This man may have added some gains to the cost of materials, and included questionable overhead in his sister’s bill. At the end of the project, she may have spent twice the actual cost of the project without questioning her brother Thank God; she did not lose her life in the process.
What then can we learn from this? The answer is simple and straightforward. The Bible calls a man who trusted in a man a cursed person (Jeremiah 17:5).Nevertheless, there are still some people that can be trusted. However, be aware of the timing. The same man who helped in completing the building of your house may not be destined to help in clearing your vehicle at the custom post in Africa. Second, who has ever thought that people at home “will understand?” You may be making a big mistake. Majority of those at home are of the opinion that what we bring home is their share of goodies from overseas. They want to wring you like a wet towel. Pray that the Lord will be there for you whenever there is a plan of evil anywhere anytime. King Saul planned evil against David but failed. Did God not punish him for his gross misconduct and open hatred? The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not all acquit the wicked. (Nahum 1:3a)
People may be willing to know why you are keeping your plans to yourself. If you know that the plan of God for you is irrelevant to the understanding of others around you, please ask that the Lord helps you to keep it to yourself. Pray to God for guidance. The wicked will be rewarded, for “he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons” (Colossians 3:25). May the Lord help us in Jesus name. Amen.
