PUT NOT YOUR TRUST IN PRINCES

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

I had an experience a few years ago that perfectly illustrates Psalm 146. As I read this Psalm I reflected on it and marveled at how the LORD has shaped things since that point. “Put not your trust in princes…in whom there is no salvation” (v. 3). It is right. I had an offer to help me with a new business from an extremely important person. I could have placed my hope in him and felt as though this idea would be world-changing and unstoppable with his influence behind it. Then he died. Suddenly. No warning; he was in good health and he was due to come visit and speak to government officials on my behalf. “When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish” (v. 4).

Those words rung true for me that day. I was blessed to have known him and to have his offer of help. Yet, it wasn’t in the LORD’s plans for me. I chose not to despair but to declare to the LORD that my help was “the God of Jacob” (v. 5). He made heaven and earth, after all. He is a far more important ally than any mortal man as we seek to build consequential businesses that bring salvation to the nations. We are trying to do something that requires His watchful sovereignty over us. We cannot do what we set out to do without Him.

It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek help from others, but we must not put our trust in their help. Our trust is in Him, and when we wonder where our real help comes from, we can join David in declaring that our help comes from Him, the maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1). The LORD is good. I hope you’ll join me on this journey of placing my trust fully in Him.

OPEN USA supports workers in the 10/40 Window, who are doing Business for Transformation. This author’s identifying information has been withheld due to security reasons. To learn more about OPEN USA and B4T, visit Find Yourself in B4T.