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A few years ago, we traveled with friends to a remote village in northern Thailand. As we drove over a dirt road, we spied a foot bridge crossing the rushing stream next to the road. This was not a picturesque footbridge with a white railing. A clump of small trees growing on one bank were bent across the stream to meet trees bent down from the opposite bank. They were tied together, forming an arch. A few slender trunks from each side formed a path just wide enough to walk on. Would you trust that bridge?

People trust many things in life to get them over difficulties. Some trust in their own ingenuity, like the builders of that bridge. Others trust in wealth. They believe more money means living problem free. They fail to realize that wealth often brings its own worries and problems.

For other people, they trust in politics. Whether politics in the office or related to government, people often maneuver their relationships and expend energy to curry favor with powerful people. They put trust in knowing the right people. Being on their good side. And when needed, calling in a favor.

These people could be described as “the proud.’  Listen to what Psalms 40:4 says about  the proud, “Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” (NIV)

Remember when you face difficulties, trust in God.

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Have you ever participated in a trust fall? It is a team building exercise. Each member of the team takes a turn standing on a chair or table. Keeping the body straight, he or she fall backwards, trusting team members will lock arms and catch them. It builds trust. I’ve done this a couple of times with high school students in a Christian summer camp. It is uncomfortable to fall backwards off a picnic table. But my teammates lived up to my trust. I never crashed to the ground. No one on the team did.

That’s not the case for the comic character Charlie Brown. Oh, he didn’t do a trust fall. But year after year he asks Lucy to hold the football so he can run up and kick it. She always snatches it away at the last second. Lucy’s not very trustworthy.

Psalms 40:4 says, “Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” (NIV)

In this verse, the proud are unreliable. They’re like Lucy with the football. But worse, they live without God. They follow false teachings about life and morality. They turn aside to follow something or someone other than God. Like Charlie Brown, we’d be a blockhead to trust them. So, how do you need to trust the Lord today?

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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.