WRITTEN BY TIM LABRECHE
In the spring of 2010, we had the opportunity to purchase a new, dependable car for our family. Up until that time we had a rough couple of years. The loss of a job, we had to close our coffee shop, we had to sell our home before it was foreclosed, moved to northern Michigan with my gracious in-laws, and other things that seemed almost too difficult to walk through at the time. Through it all, we didn’t lose hope and kept trusting that God would keep us under his wing. The new-to-us vehicle was a 2005 Saturn Vue. I’ve had a few vanity plates before and wanted to get one for this new blessing. The plate read “PSLM207”. It stands for Psalm 20:7 which reads, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Like an Ebeneezer stone, I wanted to remember how God provided when we were in desperate need.
The sad truth is that there are more and more people in the same situation that my family was in during the last few years of the 2000s. Right now everything is on an upward trend. Inflation. Gas. Groceries. Clothing. All cost more than they did a year ago. As I was mowing my lawn yesterday and asking God how to put this focus together, he put Philippians 4:19 on my heart. It reads,
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
I read the news on an app on my phone. It sources many different news agencies and gives a pretty broad span of viewpoints on things going on in our world. In the midst of those differing perspectives, many of the article headlines in my news app were covering a similar story with similar headlines:
- “No one wins U.S. Mega Millions, Jackpot Now over $1B”
- “Here are 4 key things to consider if you actually hit the $1.28 billion Mega Millions Jackpot”
- “The 10 best places to win the $1.34 Billion Mega Millions Jackpot.”
Sadly, many of us who are facing financial hardship have put our trust in our chariots, horses, and little pieces of paper with a series of numbers printed on them instead of the One who will meet our needs according to His riches. When we trust in the Lord, we’re not only placing that trust with the Creator of the universe but also in our God who overflows with grace, love, and resources you and I could never even fathom. You need to know that hope will never disappoint or let you down.
I recently read that on July 11, 1955, President Eisenhower signed into law a bill that required “In God, We Trust” to appear on all paper and coin currency. It was a bill that representative Charles E. Bennet of Florida introduced. Bennet believed that, similar to what I did with my vanity plate, adding the phrase to our currency would serve as a constant reminder that the nation’s political and economic fortunes were tied to its spiritual faith.
There is no need to put our trust in other fallible things that give the illusion of security like money, jobs, health, influence, and so on. Our God is the only source of inexhaustible trustworthiness. He is where I choose to place my trust.
- What about you? Where have you placed your trust? God? Financial security? Your spouse? Your job? Be still with God and ask him to reveal what you may not be seeing or aware of in where your trust is genuinely placed. He is faithful to show you.
- What is something you can do to remind yourself of a time when God met your needs? It doesn’t have to be a license plate. Maybe it’s a wallpaper on the lock screen of your phone or a photo on your refrigerator.
- Do you recognize that you have put your trust in other things other than your Savior? Take some time alone with God and ask him to forgive you, repent and ask Him to do a work in your heart.
