Sometimes it can feel like everything is against us. Like we have more enemies than allies and that even our allies can’t really be trusted. Why do we tend to fall into these times of anxiety and worry? It must be how Daniel felt when he was cast into the lions’ den, or Joseph when his brothers rejected him and he ended up a prisoner in Egypt. Or when King David had his own son turn against him. We even see the nation of Israel turn on Moses as he was sent to lead them into the promised land. Then of course we all know how Jesus’ own people rejected Him.

So many stories of so many people seemingly standing alone, but of course they never were alone and neither are we.

The problem I can find myself in is I take my eyes off what is truly important and begin to measure my effectiveness through other people’s response to me. If they like me, I must be doing well. If they don’t, well I begin to worry and doubt. This is a trap we can all fall into at times. It’s when we look to others for our security, our approval, our promotion and/or our measure of success where we get off track.

We must be careful to never confuse God’s favor for the favor of man (Galatians 1:10).

When we look to somebody to save us from our worry and look to others for our source of confidence and peace, we stand on sifting sand. We must fix our eyes on Jesus and trust Him no matter our circumstances. It’s when we are right before God, look to Him for our peace, surrender our worries to Him, seek to obey Him, and live our lives for Him that we stand on solid ground. We begin to see beyond our accusers and move away from our feelings of intimidation and isolation. We place our trust in God, not man.

People and relationships are vital in the Kingdom Of God, but can never replace Him. It has been said that there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, and if we find one we should thank God. However, perhaps a greater question and praise is how many people can count on us to be this type of friend to them?