"It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in a man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes." (Psalms, Ch. 118, Verses 8-9*)
"Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord." (Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Ch. 17, Verse 5*, bold is ours)
"Blessed is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord, his God" (Psalms, Ch. 146, Verse 5*, bold is ours)
What's the first thing you touch when you shake hands with someone wearing gloves? What do you feel afterward? Warmth, movement, but also synthetic, suede, or nubuck. The first thing you feel and touch is the glove.
These are naive questions that we often overlook as the answer is self-evident. We often approach spiritual questions in the same way, the answers to which we know, and have even reminded others. Naive, simple questions actually bring us back to earth and make us a little lower, smaller, and more open to listen and perceive.
Here's another naive question: what is the first thing you see in danger, insult, disappointment, but also in joy, gratitude, gift, and help? You see a person or a group of people standing behind the situation. Even for situations and circumstances where it would be hard to find a "guilty" party, we will discover one if it affects us enough. For the delay of the queue in the store ahead of you, the slower person at the checkout will be to blame; from there the delay will transfer to you, you will miss the bus that could have not left right under your nose, for which the driver will be to blame. In the rush, you have quickly passed in front of a car whose driver saw you from afar and let you pass even unlawfully in front of him at a red light. Only stopping in front of the closed doors of the bus, you realize you could have died from inattention, but someone stopped and gave you a way and preserved your life.
When we think about all these small and seemingly insignificant situations in our lives, we often judge very superficially and evaluate the "gloves" around us: good person, slow person, pushy person, inconsiderate person, dangerous person, positive person, responsive person.
The common thing among all of them is that they are humans—physically present, visible, accessible to the touch, they are matter. The desire for some security tempts us to look at the external and physical, that which can be touched. Faith looks at the invisible. It is not always something natural and inherent for the human being and seems as if we need a little imagination to be able to imagine in what we actually believe and rely on. God understands this.
However, the Lord calls us to something very important, reminding us in many places in the Bible: not to trust and hope in people.
People can possess various good characteristics on their own. We have friends who have proven their loyalty in time and situations, but these same friends are not always with us when needed. In fact, this would be impossible, because otherwise, they would be a god. The reason God allows our limited abilities and human kindness to lead to disappointment is to show us the "Hand," not the "gloves."
God repeatedly warns the people of Israel not to make and serve other gods (idols) but to worship and rely only on Yahweh.
Your god is only that in which you trust. It will accept your love and honor. That is why God does not want us to focus so much on people because even at first we might be impressed and admire them, inevitably we will see things that disappoint us. Just as they will in us, of course. And at the same time, the Lord would use those same people around us to show us His love and mercy but without allowing us to turn them into idols. The realization that we are just people and only the Lord is God and as such deserves full trust and honor takes the "Hand" out of the "glove." This will relieve a lot of weight and demands in our relationships with others. They are not God and cannot be—realizing this will keep us from unrealistic expectations toward people and consequently from disappointment, offense, and unforgiveness. On the other hand, it will push us ever more strongly towards the true help, safety, friendship, and love that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Challenge of the week: Can you think of someone you need to "acquit in the court" of your own heart? Someone from whom you have demanded and expected much? Someone whose actions you wish were different?
Is there someone who has become the "hand" for you? The one you go to for help, for advice, or just to pour out your grief? Someone without whom you could not navigate a problematic situation or a tough moment.
Both types of personalities have, in one way or another, been the "hand" in your life, perhaps even taking a place on par with God for you. Remember, God does not want you to feel lonely or disappointed, and that is bound to happen if you place a human in God's place. In the next challenge or difficult moment this week, we challenge you to pray to God instead of calling that sure person who would understand and support you and personally go to the "Hand" and "Heart" that loves you.
*Biblical quotes are according to the text of the Bible, new translation from the original languages © Bulgarian Bible Society 2013.
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