“Some trust in their war chariots, and others in their horses, but we trust in the power of the Lord our God.” Psalm 20:7 (GNT)
This Advent we are considering Isaiah’s prophecy of a promised child who will be called by many regal names. The one for this Sunday is “the Mighty God.” Thinking about the power of God reminds me of a time when I had a church member in NC with a troubling non-cancerous tumor that had attached to his brain. It was going to be a very long, difficult surgery at the Duke VA Hospital. I went to visit him the night before the procedure. While visiting, the surgeon arrived to walk the patient through everything he would be doing the next day. He was a brilliant neuro-surgical specialist from Greece who had studied at the best medical schools in the world. When he finished the explanation, he asked if there were any questions. After answering them, he turned to me and said, “That just leaves one thing. Come over pastor and lead us in prayer so we have the real power.”
A man with amazing skill, education and credentials knew his place. He understood that for all his brilliance he couldn’t actually heal the body. He couldn’t control how this man’s brain would respond. He couldn’t make cells grow or the body recover. All he could do is cooperate with what God has given. He was a Christian and believed that without God’s power, he was powerless.
Aren’t we all? But that’s a hard lesson to learn. Most people do after taking some hard knocks in life. Sometimes we don’t let go of our control until we get to the end of our rope.
The writer of Psalm 20 noted people who trusted in their chariots and horses, the resources of war, to keep them secure. “But we,” the psalmist wrote, “trust in the power of the Lord our God.” Can you say that? Can any of us say we trust God completely? Maybe the better question to ask is: “God where is my dependence on my own power and ability getting in the way? And how can I trust you more?”
Now that’s a question that will keep us busy through Advent!