February 21
In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 56:11
This verse makes me think of the men in the Bible, such as John and Paul. Each of them put such trust in God that it didn’t matter what men would do to them. They were going to keep preaching the gospel.
I think of John, whom they tried to kill by dipping in boiling oil. However, it didn’t kill him. He came out just like he went in, with no scar on his body. John had put his whole trust in God and even referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He understood the power of love and what that meant in his life. After the failed attempt to kill John, they sent him to the island of Patmos, where he ended up writing the book of Revelation.
Paul is another man who lived out this verse. He was warned several times to not go here or there because of persecution that would happen to him. However, none of that moved him. He listened and obeyed the voice of the Lord, going where he was told to go no matter what. Think about how many times he was whipped, beaten, imprisoned, ship-wrecked, even bit by a poisonous snake, yet none of these things brought any fear to him.
Both John and Paul were sold out to God and put their complete trust in Him. I have to wonder if I would have the same trust in God. This verse makes someone like myself, who struggles with being a people pleaser, take a pause.
I believe that the fear of what others think prevents us many times from fully obeying God. It’s one thing to sing about trusting Him and telling Him how much you love Him, and quite another to live out that faith and trust in Him. Have you ever felt like you were supposed to pray for someone but stopped short because of what they or others would think of you? Unfortunately, that has been me more times than I want to admit.
Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he be loyal to the one and despise the other.” This verse speaks of money, but it certainly fits when talking about serving man or God. You can only please one – I choose God!
Dear Lord, help me care about your thoughts toward me far more than anyone else today and every day. Amen.