Thursday of Week 30 – Romans 8:31b-39; Luke 13:31-35
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put trust in man (Ps 118).
The Pharisees knew this psalm. Still, they chose to join forces with Herod against Jesus. A worldly ruler – even an unacceptable one – felt safer to them than the One who made the lame walk, the deaf hear, and proclaimed Good News to the poor.
Jesus’ answer must have disappointed them. He was going to carry on His work. Fear wouldn’t silence Him.
“The Lord is with me; I will not fear – what can man do to me?” (Psalm 118). It’s the same psalm Jesus echoes when He speaks of Jerusalem being left desolate. And really – what can man do? He can condemn, but it is God who justifies.
People can hurt us. They can weigh us down with troubles, persecutions, hunger, and destitution – and in the end, even death. They can. But they can’t touch what matters most: our life with God.
We’re meant to support one another. Without the trust and friendship of someone at our side, life is hard. Still, no human friend is my final hope. A stake hanging in mid-air can’t hold anything. God alone is the foundation. Only He is steady and unfailing. Only He is the source of hope.
Even if everyone else walks away, our life rests in His hands. No one – not on earth or beyond it – can separate us from His love.