Trusting God from the seat of a chariot 

I work hard to maintain my trust in God, but I’m truly grateful for the “chariots and horses” the USA owns. I hadn’t even brewed my first cup of coffee Saturday morning before my husband Jim informed me of the capture and arrest of the Venezuelan president and his wife. Later that morning, we watched the president’s address together.

Whatever your politics are, you can be proud of the strength of our armed forces and their military capabilities. The news Saturday morning reminded me of Psalm 20:7, which says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Americans have to work harder than most to understand the importance of that verse. Most of us work to trust in the name of the Lord our God from the seat of a powerful chariot.

Our hope is built on nothing less

Edward Mote wrote that hymn after experiencing his spiritual calling to full-time ministry. He became a Baptist preacher in England and, in addition to pastoring, wrote the words to several hymns. His hymn encourages Christians to trust in nothing less than “Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” The chorus says that Christ is the solid rock where we should choose to stand because everything else is “sinking sand.”

When times are tough, I sing those words with greater depth in my soul than during the easier times in my life. Do you?

The people of Ukraine, the Christians in oncology care or the ICU, or those who struggle each month to pay their bills, probably sing that hymn through tears and fears. Those of us who sing the words from the seat of a chariot probably sing with good intentions rather than deep convictions.

Truthfully, anything we trust more than the character or “name” of God is something less. We are taught to place our hope and trust in “Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” The hymn teaches us to “wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

How do we keep from building hope in something less?

My son Ryan’s article last week included a quote from former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse. The fifty-three-year-old Sasse recently told the world, “I have been diagnosed with metastasized, stage four pancreatic cancer and am gonna die.” Ryan provided a quote from Sasse that he said, “describes the hope he and his family have found in light of his diagnosis.” Sasse said, “Often we lazily say ‘hope’ when what we mean is ‘optimism.’ To be clear, optimism is great, and it’s absolutely necessary, but it’s insufficient. It’s not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you’re not going to walk them down the aisle. Nor telling your mom and pops they’re gonna bury their son. A well lived life demands more reality—stiffer stuff. That’s why, during the Advent, even while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope—often properly with a gravelly voice soldiering through tears.”

That’s what the psalmist meant when he taught us not to trust in “chariots and horses.” This world and all of its possibilities require us to “trust in the name of the Lord our God.” That’s why a Baptist preacher from the 1800s taught us to sing, “On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

I regret that I won’t be able to vote for Ben Sasse one day. He didn’t just speak words to gain the Christian vote. His life was a testimony that verified his words and still does. Even today, facing certain death, his “hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” Sasse’s hope has been rooted in his faithful trust in Jesus for many years, and now his words validate that trust. 

How do we build that kind of trust in God now, before a crisis? How do we fully trust in God instead of lesser things?

What are your chariots and horses?

What do you trust in more than God? It’s alright to be grateful for the “stuff” we accumulate in this life. God blesses his children every day. I’ve often said we should choose to live lives God is able to bless. That’s why we study to know God’s word and then obey God’s word. God blesses us when we follow his will for our lives. Sasse’s family is likely struggling to feel blessed right now. It will take an eternal focus to trust God for their present realities.

The single greatest blessing from God is the hope we gain in this world because of the promise we have of heaven. Our eternal lives are insured by our trust in Jesus. Everything else we trust is something “less.” 

I’m grateful for a bank account, good reports from the doctors, family, friends, medical insurance, and a home and church to enjoy. I’m glad to live in a country that embraces freedoms, especially religious freedoms. I’m grateful for the people who enlist and serve in the military to keep us safe. We are blessed to live in a country that has LOTS of chariots and horses. 

We are blessed, unless we trust in those things more than we trust in the Lord our God.

When will our trust in God matter most?

The last stanza of Mote’s hymn reminds us, “When he shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in him be found; dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.”

None of us will arrive in heaven “faultless” on our own. We have eternal life today because of the blood of Jesus Christ and our faith in him. We can trust the words of the hymn because we trust in the name of Jesus and the name of the Lord our God.

Everything else is just a chariot or horse. It’s okay to be grateful for our chariots. We just need to make an effort to acknowledge that our chariots are not what we should trust. As we prepare to face God, we should work daily to stand on Christ, our solid rock. The chariots and horses are always something less. They are the temporary things of this life that we will simply enjoy for a little while.

On Christ the solid rock we stand. Everything else we tend to trust is just “sinking sand.” Do you need to hop out of a chariot today? You can trust the solid Rock to be waiting.

Do you smell like Jesus?

We had just dropped our oldest son, Ryan, at Baylor University so he could begin his freshman year. I thought I was handling the change well until I went upstairs to grab his bedding for the wash. I pulled the pillowcase off and instantly smelled my son. I missed him. 

Another time I was in the grocery store and a woman walked by wearing White Shoulders perfume. I had to wipe tears off of my face while standing in the frozen foods aisle. Jim’s mom wore White Shoulders, and she had recently passed away. The smell brought her back for just a moment. 

I’ve spoken to a lot of widows who have a difficult time cleaning out the other half of the closet because they can bury their face in those clothes and feel close to the one they just lost.  

The sense of smell is closely linked to the part of our brain that holds our memories. So, I found it interesting to learn that the Bible describes Christians as an aroma to God. 

All people—Two aromas 

It’s human nature to classify other people according to race, age, culture, wealth, education, politics, etc. God only puts people into two categories: those who are being saved and those who are perishing. According to the Apostle Paul, those who are being saved smell like God’s Son. 

There really are only two types of people. The Apostle Paul gives us those two distinct categories in 2 Corinthians. If Christians will learn to view people like God, it will change the way we see ourselves and all others.  

Paul wrote, “Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:14–15). 

To God, every person either smells like his Son or they don’t. Imagine a world where all people viewed others the way God sees them eternally. Those are the only distinctions that truly matter. 

The Christian parade 

When you placed your faith in Christ as Lord, you were invited to walk in a parade. There is a “triumphal procession” that ends when we reach the gates of heaven.  

But the parade itself has great value. Our earthly lives are the time we spend walking with Christ. Scripture describes that journey as the opportunity to “spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God—everywhere.” That is our lives’ great purpose. Wherever you go, the saved and the unsaved will sense the “aroma” of Christ through your life. 

A welcome aroma 

There are thousands of aromas in this world. I’ve often said that, if they could bottle the smell of a Barnes and Noble bookstore, I would buy it! The smell of coffee and new books, two of my favorite things on this planet, combine to provide a wonderful scent. It’s the smell of contentment to me. 

Your life, combined with the presence of Christ, provides a wonderful aroma in this world. Most of the time, our witness is that unintentional impression we can make on the people we meet. They may not even recognize that aroma as Christ, but they are impacted by its presence. 

A scent that lingers 

I have a friend who wears a distinctive cologne. He usually gives me a hug when I see him and almost always leaves a trace of cologne when he does.  

We have all stepped on an elevator and noticed that someone recently returned to the office with food. 

We can step outside in the summer and know that a neighbor has a newly mown lawn or is serving something off the grill for dinner. 

All of those scents indicate the presence of an activity. It is interesting to consider that our time spent with Jesus can cause a scent to linger long after our amen. Others will notice what Scripture describes as the lingering aroma of Christ. 

Walk in the triumphal procession

Do you ever wonder what heaven will smell like? 

It’s probably filled with aromas not found on earth. 

Every person you encounter this week is either in that triumphal procession to heaven or not included in the parade. 

As Christians, if we saw everyone else in that way, how would that change the ways we view or engage with others? 

May all of us carry the lingering scent of our time spent with Jesus. It is an aroma our world will notice. Some will find it pleasant; others might not. Either way, it is what we should most want to smell like each day.  

You can smell like Jesus. The world needs his aroma.