I Trust in God, but...

A king is not saved by his great army;
     a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 
The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
     and by its great might it cannot save. 
Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,
    on those who hope in his steadfast love, 
to deliver their soul from death,
     and to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD;
     he is our help and shield. 
Our heart is glad in him,
     because we trust in his holy name. 
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.          Psalm 33:16-22

I wonder if the psalmist really believed the words he wrote. After all, Israel had warriors and horses and chariots and weapons of war. And being a rather small and insignificant kingdom, they also made military alliances with stronger powers. God is our help and shield. Really?

I'm not picking on the ancient Israelites. Many in our country and in our country's history have claimed that the US is the new bearer of God's blessings and covenant, the new Jerusalem. But some of the most ardent Christians are also the most ardent supporters of large military budgets along with the "right to bear arms" so that we can protect ourselves. God is our help and shield?

I trust in God, but... I presume that almost every honest person of faith (emphasis on honest) can finish this sentence with multiple buts and excepts. We trust in God, but only so far. And most of us tend to trust in ourselves or in the things we and others can do more than in God. In the modern world, most Christians have relegated God and trusting God to a narrower and narrower slice of life. For many, God isn't to be trusted with anything more that what  happens to us when we die. No wonder so many find Christian faith not worth their time.

I make no claims to be a big exception to this. I struggle to trust God as much as the next person. I manage to here and there, but I fail to do so regularly. But I have also discovered something over the years. At those times when I trust most in myself, in my abilities and skills and whatever else I think impressive about me, I inevitably find myself in trouble. And I find myself back before God, a little sheepishly, trying to lay claim to the hopes of the psalmist.

In Advent, as we once again remember and rehearse ancient stories, we might do well to remember that we are getting ready for the one who could trust himself completely to God, and who calls us to follow him. Especially among more "progressive" Christians like myself, Advent is a good time to refocus on the person of Jesus, on this one who does trust and who comes to show us his way of trusting.

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