Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Trust”
Our Bible verse for today: “Absolute futility, says the Teacher, absolute futility. Everything is futile.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Our trust must be in God alone.”
Last night I was watching a news program and it occurred to me how much of the newscast was dedicated to the never-ending and seemingly unsolvable problems in our federal government. It was just one story after another about arguments and debates, stalemates and political maneuvering, he-said she-said, and we the viewing public are left wondering what’s true and what’s not. All we know for sure it that not much is getting done.
The last Presidential election was supposed to solve all of that for us. They promised us it would. And yet, the gridlock is worse than ever and nobody trusts anybody. And that’s just on the federal level of our government. A similar scenario plays out at all levels of government and is also becoming increasingly evident throughout all parts of our society. We truly are a deeply divided nation.
The biggest problem we face though is the fact that we insist on putting our trust in leaders and programs and policies to fix things for us. We allow ourselves to believe that if only our candidate is elected, if his or her policies are fully implemented, if there were new and better laws, if others in our society would only see things our way and agree with us, everything would be ok. But when we do that we’re putting our trust in the wrong things. People and politicians and policies and programs are not the answer. God is the answer.
That was certainly the lesson King Solomon learned and recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is one long and sad record of a lifetime spent placing his trust in all the wrong things. Solomon depended on wisdom, and on wealth, and on pleasure, and on public projects, and entertainment, and government, and everything he could think of, only to finally realize that it was all futile, “a chasing after the wind”. After he had experimented with every possible solution life had to offer he finally discovered that, “When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: “Fear God and keep His commands.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
The truth is that the President, your Senator, your political party, your career, your lifestyle choice, and your social policies are not the answer. Faith in God is the answer. As individuals and as a nation we need to place our trust in God and in His ways. That’s the only hope for us. I encourage you to put your full trust in God – in no one else and in no thing else.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 