In Isaiah 36-37, we are confronted with the question: who will we trust?

Will we trust in other people? Judah trusted in Egypt to help them, but Egypt was “a broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it” (36:6). And so other people will fail us too – whether they mean to or not. They are not strong enough, big enough to take care of all the trials that come against us. Like us, they are broken.

Will we trust in ourselves? Assyria mocked Judah, saying that even if Assyria provided them with 2000 horses, Judah could not put riders on them (36:8-9). So how could Judah overcome even the smallest part of Assyria’s army? We too are tempted to trust in our own strength, our own plans. But like Judah, our strength is often too weak, and our plans too often fail.

Will we trust in our trials? That seems odd, but it is entirely possible to believe that our trials are so powerful, that the only thing we can do is give up to them. That is what Assyria encouraged Judah to do – give up to the Assyrians (36:16-17). And we are often tempted to just give up in the face of our trials.

Or will we trust in the Lord? Will we trust in the Lord who alone is God over all the kingdoms of this world? Will we trust in the Lord our God who loves us and is with us? Will we trust in the Lord of Hosts who has all of the hosts of heaven at his command (37:16)? He is greater than other people, greater than ourselves, greater than our trials. He can help us no matter we face. And he invites us to trust in Him.

So in the midst of your trials, who will you trust this week?