Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalm 20:7
Igor stepped out of the bus onto dry, sandy soil and gazed around at nothing but rocks and a few scattered weeds stretching clear to the horizon in all directions. His entire shift from the aircraft factory had been sent out into the countryside for a nuclear training drill, a protection against the nuclear bomb attack the Americans were planning.
All day Igor and his fellow workers practiced. They learned how to quickly put on suits that would protect against radiation. Wearing the suits, they ran through the fields for several kilometers and went through simulated decontamination procedures.
All this activity, and what did it achieve? The people participating in the drills and the training were told to trust their government, that the government would protect them from all enemies. The citizens of the Soviet Union could see the visible might of their government, and were assured that it would triumph over all.
It didn’t turn out that way. The powerful military might and the civilians trained in defense were never called on to defend the Soviet Union. Instead, it was defeated from within, by an enemy they had not prepared for. Trusting in government didn’t save them.
But we trust in the name of the Lord our God. He knows our enemies; He is never caught unprepared. And He is the All-Mighty who can defeat any power, and pretense, any thought that raises itself up against the truth of Christ. Sometimes He works in ways we cannot see, slowly, behind the scenes, His power not evident until He has won the victory. Unlike a government, which has limited power in this world only, God’s power extends beyond the grave and defeats even death.
That is a power worth trusting.
Lord, help me to resist trusting in the powers I can see and trust in You, the power above them all.