Looking in the Wrong Places for Help!

Reading:  Isaiah 31
My Verse:  "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
                        and rely on horses,
                     who trust in chariots because they are many
                        and in horsemen because they are very strong,
                     but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
                        or consult the LORD!"   (31:1)



This reminds me how difficult it is to live a spiritual life!  As a young child I would often wonder if there was more to life than what I saw with my eyes and what I heard and felt.  I wanted so much for there to be more.  And yet as an adult I find myself wanting to rely on what I see before my eyes to be strong and beautiful; on articulate speech I hear to be wise and intriguing; and on what I can touch to be reassuring to my sense of reality or need for comfort.  What happened to that young child that longed for a spiritual world - reality?  What happened, that now as an adult I often struggle to keep my focus on You, LORD God?  For I do know this - that You are REAL.  You are my help!  (Psalm 48:1)

Here we are told "the Egyptians are man and not God" (v. 3)  You tell us - "Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation" (Psalm 146:3)

Yet, the beautiful city is so appealing, alluring.  The beautiful strong horse and chariot, the capable looking horsemen draws me because I see them with my eyes, they are before me and I want so to rely on them.  You tell me “their horses are flesh, and not spirit.”   They can “stumble”, “fall”, and “perish.”

I  also know that I live in a fallen world.  A world that is ruled by Satan, the Deceiver(Revelation 12:9), the Father of Lies(John 8:44), the Destroyer (1 Peter 5:8).  He will do all he can to lead me astray, to make me want to rely on the wrong things, to look for help in all the wrong places!

You, LORD God, want only to bring me to safety within the shelter of Your wings, within the shelter of Your love.

“Like birds hovering, so the LORD of hosts

   will protect Jerusalem;

He will protect and deliver it;

   He will spare and rescue it.” (31:5)

I need to remember Who You are LORD God.  You are the Creator of all that is.  You created me, but You gave me a free will and I must constantly choose You.  I must each and every moment turn my eyes back to You.  John Piper has a wonderful sermon on his website desiringgod.org that tells us to “shift our focus”.  I like that and have been telling myself that as things pop up to turn me from You, LORD God.

Calvin Miller reminds us that we need God in our attempt to swim the river of life.  He says, “The current of that river is demanding, and swimming it requires all the strength we have.”

A.W. Tozer stated “Unnecessary burdens are crushing the life out of people every day. . . Civilization has not made our lot easier except in things pertaining to the body; the burdens of the heart are growing more numerous, and science has found no remedy.  The silky voice of the practitioner may sooth the mind for a time, but the disease is too deep to yield itself to such inadequate measures.”

“Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee” (Psalm 55:22).

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!