trust not in breath

Has anyone ever let you down...
Made a promise and not kept it,
Broken your heart
Kept secret from you something important,
Left you standing alone and lonely?

Silly questions...
all of them!

Why?
Because we are humans...
flawed, frail, fragile and fractured.
We cannot help but be imperfect.

So we are not capable
of saving others,
of holding them up without fail, nor
of fulfilling their all expectations.
Not really.
We are simply not perfect.

Even the prophet Isaiah warns us...
Don’t put your trust in mere humans.
They are as frail as breath.
What good are they?
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭2:22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So does that mean
we are supposed to live our lives
isolated,
withdrawn,
alone and lonely?

Are we to build high walls
that shelter us from all the
hurling hurts of this world and all it's
flawed, frail, fragile and fractured humans?

Of course not.
That is not a way to live life.
God never intended us to do this alone.

Even in the Garden...
The Lord God said,
“It is not good
for the man to be alone.
I will make a helper
who is just right for him.”
Genesis 2:18 NLT

And then God commanded Adam and Eve
to multiply and be fruitful.
Because God actually desire
that we live in community...
in and around other people.

But what He is telling us through Isaiah,
is not to put our TRUST in mere humans.
Not that we cannot ever trust them.

This word TRUST, in Hebrew means...
to think, regard, value, esteem, be like, and honor.

God doesn't want us to
put our all value in the opinion of people.
Nor to place such weighty expectations
on mere humans
that they let us down.

Like when we put them on a pedestal...
believing they are the fix to our problems,
the answer to our prayers,
the key to our success.

They might be be sent as earthly help by God.
But they are not to be worshipped as such.

When we begin value people's opinion
or esteem of us above God's...
that is actually idolatry.

God... the great almighty Yahweh,
is the only one in whom
we should place this kind of TRUST.

We can still trust humans...
those we choose to be with in community.
But not with the level of TRUST,
or faith that we place in God.
People simply can not
live up to those expectations.
And honestly, we as humans
don't deserve that honor.

For we... are as frail as breath.
And a simple breath,
an exhale of gasses is not enough
to lean upon.
It is not substantial, solid, nor, steady.
Not like our God.

Let us today think more balanced...
not living at either extreme.
Remembering to live, not so isolated
that we rely only upon ourselves,
walled off from the rest of the world.

​But also not be so dependent upon other humans
that we set ourselves up for disappointment.
Believing that people are a greater help
than the great I AM.

Word of God,
train me, today...
to first and foremost, TRUST in You,
as humans are as frail as breath.
to stay connected to community,
for life is too difficult alone.

Lord, I thank You
for those in my community.
My family, friends and neighbors.

You have blessed me
with people that I need...
with whom to share my life.

Remind me not to put up walls
keeping them out,
isolating myself,
fearing hurt and disappointment.

But rather to put all
of my TRUST in You.
For I know that through You
all things will work together for good...
even through the
flawed, frail, fragile and fractured humans
surrounding me.

And even this...
flawed,
frail,
fragile and
fractured human,
that You call Lisa,
can be used to help others
when I put my TRUST in You
and shinie Your light in this dark world.