Clay in the Hands

Yesterday, one of my readings was in the book of Psalms. Psalm 146 begins with a reminder that we are to praise the Lord each and every day – “all of my life” and “as long as I live,” the psalmist says. God is truly worthy of our praise and this season is a reminder of why. Because of His great love, God stepped into time and space and took on humanity – the Creator became part of His creation. And so we praise Him. Our gratitude and relief should spur us to praise each day.

The psalm then moves to a reminder of the importance of where we place our trust. Verses 3 – 4 of this psalm are the words that have haunted me since yesterday.

3 Do not put you trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.

“On that very day their plans come to nothing.” What a stark reminder of what matters in this life. We can easily fall into the trap of hustle to get more, to do more, to be more. We, in our humanity, are never satisfied with getting more and more. But at the end of our lives, none of that matters – it all ends in nothing.

There are two lessons I am processing from this verse. The first is as stated above, we need to make sure our striving is for what does not fade or rust nor for what thieves can break in and steal. Our striving should be for treasures laid up in heaven – striving to love Jesus and to show that love to others.

The second lesson is one of trust. Who do I trust? The “princes” of this world, we might use the word “influencers,” are not where we should place our trust. All human plans will come to nothing. All the scraping, working, striving and sweating will come to NOTHING. Placing our trust in people is trust that will always let us down.

The only one we can trust is Jesus. His love is trustworthy. His act of incarnation proves His love and the length to which He would go because of that love. Trust in Jesus is the only thing that will lead to all that matters.

So this Advent season, let your mind and heart move to a renewed focus on Jesus and the trustworthy love that He has for you. And let that focus result in praise.