Taking refuge

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” Psalm 118:8
Psalm 118:8 is said to be the central verse of the Bible. There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118, and 594 chapters after it (1188 in total). Psalm 118 also sits between the shortest (Psalm 117) and longest (Psalm 119) chapters in the Bible. And this verse is central to our walk as Christians.
It doesn’t take too long to realise that people will let you down. If we trust in people, sooner or later we will become bitterly disappointed. People are unable to keep all their promises. People are unable to be there every time you need them. But God never fails. He keeps all His promises. He will always be there when we call out to Him. He will never disappoint us or let us down. If we take refuge in God, we can be completely sure of our safety.
The nation Israel did not learn this truth. In the final days of the kingdom of Judah, as they were under threat of invasion by the Babylonian armies, the prophets were warning the people not to trust in Egypt and the other nations for deliverance. Jeremiah was nearly executed for treason, saying that the people should surrender to the Babylonians, since this was God’s judgement upon them for not being obedient to Him. The people did trust in Egypt, however, but even there the Babylonians conquered them and took them away captive.
Trusting in man can also apply to trusting in our own abilities. Too often we only look to God and His power as a last resort, saying, ‘God, I can handle this by myself.’ But this shows a lack of understanding of just how great God is, and just how weak we really are. Why would we not want to take refuge in Him?