Friday September 23, 2011

All of you reading this jlog remember 10+ years ago on that fateful day when the twin towers in New York collapsed. It was a very dark time tor the United States and we were all changed in some way. We had all trusted in our defense systems to prevent such things from occurring and yet they happened. I think some of our being stunned was being vulnerable to being attacked on our own soil. I was planning to have my Bostonian friend fly in that day and we were going to drive up to Flagstaff, AZ to play in a week long golf tournament. As the reports began coming in, they grounded all planes in all U S. cities and declared a no fly zone anywhere in American soil. The planes came from Boston that bombed the twin towers so I didn’t know if my friend was okay until he called me and said that his plane was diverted to St. Louis where he stayed that week.

Until that fateful day we had trust in our government to protect us from our enemies. The whole nation was shocked and outraged that extremists who hate the United States could infiltrate our borders and reek such destruction and loss of lives. Our trust in our government to keep us safe was shaken. Just this last weekend two Arizona Republic reporters went to the football game in Washington D. C., walked into the stadium without so much as a stop from security to check who they were or what they were doing. They both were questioning of security measures at the stadium that would allow two people to come into the stadium without being stopped and searched. Where is the trust?

For Isaiah, he dealt with this issue of who or what to trust when he said, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words. He will rise up against that wicked nation, against those who help evildoers. But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, those who help will stumble, those who are helped will fall; all will perish together. (Isaiah 31:1-3 NIV). Isaiah was saying that the only person that you could trust for guidance, direction, security, and victory is the God of Israel. Our horses under the hood can’t be trusted as they will eventually break down. Our friends and neighbors will fail us at times. Our strength will fail us, especially as we grow older. It’s only as we trust the Lord will we gain strength and experience victory in our lives

On this journey be careful where you put your trust.