Jesus would not entrust himself to them, . . . for he knew what was in each person.— John 2:24-25
Today’s devotional from Oswald (below) will redirect your thinking, as he usually does. He challenges us to ask who is first in our life? For those of us who profess to follow Christ it’s easy to say we put Him first, but as we examine our life, do we? Who (or what) is it that really guides us through each day?
Are we following other people? Even if we follow the holiest of those we know, they are still human and as such have faults. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t find a good church and pastor and follow good teaching. It means we are aware of the fact that even the best among us fall well short of the perfection of Christ and we are to be aware of that and measure everything and everyone against the Word as that is the only infallible standard.
Are we trusting in ourselves? Are we the ones trying to get things done, or are we looking to God for His plans and His direction? This is a hard area for me, and I suspect many others. We have no problem knowing the weakness of others, but trust too much in ourselves. Yes, we must work and get things done, but are we looking for direction and inspiration from God as we go through each day to see what He has crossing our path to pay attention to?
I found this quote today: ““If you can trust God to save you for eternity, you can trust him to lead you for a lifetime.”
Amen to that!
“Lord, help me today to keep my spiritual eyes open for your leading and direction, so that I may see what you have for me in this day. Let me not be overly concerned about what tomorrow may bring but be filled with your inspiration for what today already has waiting for me.”
God First
Jesus would not entrust himself to them, . . . for he knew what was in each person.— John 2:24-25
Put trust in God first. “Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people” (John 2:24). Our Lord trusted no one except God, yet he was never suspicious, never bitter, never in despair about anyone. He simply trusted entirely in what God’s grace could do. If we put our trust in people before God, if we insist on people being something they never can be—absolutely right—we’ll become bitter and end up despairing of everyone. This is why we must never trust in anything but the grace of God.
Put God’s needs first. “Here I am, I have come to do your will” (Hebrews 10:9). Many of us are obedient to whatever we perceive to be a need. We say to ourselves, “The unsaved are dying without God. They need the Lord; they need me to come and preach the gospel.” Jesus was never obedient to a need; he was obedient to the will of his Father. Before we rush off into work for God, we have to make sure that we are honoring God’s will for our own lives. God wants us to be rightly related to him. Once we are, he will open the way for us to meet needs elsewhere.
Put God’s trust first. “And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me” (Matthew 18:5). God entrusts himself to us as an infant. He asks us to turn our personal life into a “Bethlehem,” a place where he may safely dwell, so that we may be slowly transfigured by his life inside us. God’s ultimate purpose for us is that his Son will be manifested in our mortal bodies. Are we honoring the trust he’s placed in us?
From a daily devotional by Oswald Chambers. Full devotional here: https://utmost.org/modern-classic/god-first/
Dead Man Walking 
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