... You are my refuge. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love, because You have seen my affliction; You have known the distress of my soul, and You have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy. Psalm 31:4b-8a

Over the centuries humans have entrusted their safety to many different things.

Two-hundred years before Christ, the first emperor of China trusted his Great Wall would keep out the invaders. In the 1930s, the French trusted their Maginot Line would keep out the Germans. In these last years, the Kimberly-Clark Corporation has told us to trust the Microcool Breathable High Performance Surgical Gown. They also said that the Microcool is the kind of outfit hospital personnel should wear if they're treating infectious diseases like Ebola. They said you can trust this gown that is supposed to keep the bad stuff out and the good stuff in.

Yup, that's what the gown is supposed to do.

Unfortunately, the gown doesn't live up to its hype. In fact those who have tested the gowns say they have had numerous "catastrophic failures."

And if you're thinking the news couldn't get any worse, you'd be wrong. A $500 million lawsuit filed against Kimberly-Clark says the company has known for a year that the garb was ineffective against Ebola and other diseases. The suit filed in federal court is charging the company with fraud, false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair business practices.

I guess we shouldn't be too surprised. The trusted Great Wall of China failed to keep out the barbarians; the trusted Maginot Line was circumvented by the Germans, and the trusted Kimberly-Clark gown appears to offer about the same level of protection as would be had from wearing a surgical gown made of Swiss cheese.

It all goes to prove you have to be careful where you place your trust.

Adam and Eve trusted the serpent and brought sin into the world. The children of Israel trusted their own judgment rather than God's leadership and spent decades wandering in the wilderness. Today, humanity continues to search for something, someone they can trust.

It is the wise individual, the spiritually discerning person who realizes, it is the Lord who is worthy of trust. We can say that because only the Lord has seen our affliction and distress; only the Lord has shown His complete commitment to saving us by sending His Son to live for us, die and rise for us.

This is why, like the psalmist, we commit our spirit into His hands. We will trust the Lord who has redeemed us and rejoice in the steadfast love He has shown us.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, there are many voices around me who keep shouting, "Trust me! Believe in me!" May I turn a deaf ear to them and listen to You who alone have done all which is necessary for my forgiveness and eternal life. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Ezekiel 11-13    1 Timothy 6

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