Who or What Do We Rely On?              

Today I am going to talk about an object lesson that I have found.  It is amazing how many lessons you can gain by looking at the world that God has given us.  In fact, the Spirit of Prophecy says that nature is God's second Book. And we see that Jesus used numerous articles from the natural world to aid in teaching spiritual lessons.
   The grape vine has tendrils, which will grasp anything near it in order to support it.  So the vine is constantly seeking for something to support it, it doesn't matter to the plant if it is a weed or tree or fence or anything else.
   That reminds me, who or what do we confide in?  Some of us may tend to trust in our riches and possessions. Proverbs 11:28 says, "He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch."  And Psalm 20:7 says,"Some trust in chariots and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." But for some of us, we might trust in other people. Don't get me wrong, it is definitely good to have Christian brothers and sisters to encourage you and help you in life. But when we start trusting in them for safety, and totally crashing if they leave us, that is not good. Jeremiah 17:5,7 says,"Thus saith the Lord; "Cursed  be the man that putteth his trust in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.  For he shall be like a heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh;but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord,and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." I definitely want to be like a tree next to water; but I don't want to be like a dried up shrub in the desert!  So from this text, if we want to be blessed, we are to put our entire trust God, and not in Man.
    As you can notice in these two pictures, one of the grape vines is clinging to a weed that will soon die when winter comes.  But the other vine is clinging to a little tree which will not die when winter comes, but will keep growing and living for many years to come.
     We must rely totally on Jesus who is as solid as a rock, and not on man who will soon perish.  Let's make that decision today!