Who Can You Trust?
Every day, countless voices compete for our trust.
Political leaders promise change or stability. Business leaders offer innovation and success. Influencers show us what happiness, beauty, and fulfillment are supposedly meant to look like. Podcasts, books, news channels, and social media accounts all offer another person to follow.
Underneath it all is a deeply human question: Who has figured out the good life?
Psalm 146 gives us an honest answer.
Princes Will Perish
The psalm warns us not to place our ultimate trust in princes or human leaders. This does not mean leadership is meaningless. Leaders carry real authority, make consequential decisions, and influence the lives of others.
But even the most powerful leader is still only human.
Their influence has limits. Their plans will eventually end. They cannot overcome their own mortality, much less offer eternal salvation to anyone else.
The same warning applies when I make myself the king of my life. I may gather advice from different people, keep the parts I like, and attempt to construct a life completely under my control. But that leaves me carrying the impossible weight of trying to save myself.
My plans are temporary too.
God Reigns in Glory
Psalm 146 turns our attention away from temporary rulers and toward the eternal God.
God created heaven, earth, the sea, and everything within them. He keeps His promises across generations. He executes justice for the oppressed, provides food for the hungry, sets prisoners free, lifts those who are bowed down, and watches over the vulnerable.
Human leaders may desire to accomplish some of these things, but God possesses the authority and power to do them perfectly.
He does not merely hold influence. He reigns in glory.
His promises do not disappear when a new leader takes office or when a generation passes away. His character does not change. His Kingdom does not end.
The King Came Close
Sometimes God can still feel distant. That is why He came to us.
Jesus repeatedly called Himself the Son of Man. He entered our world and experienced human life. He ate, slept, walked, talked, grieved, and faced temptation. He understood pain and sorrow, yet remained without sin.
Jesus was also fully God.
He opened blind eyes, fed the hungry, lifted the broken, confronted sin, and taught with divine authority. On the cross, He carried our sin. Through the resurrection, He defeated death.
Jesus is not another temporary leader asking for our loyalty. He is the King of Kings who came to save us.
Following the Forever King
Following Jesus begins with placing our faith in Him. It means repenting of sin and trusting Him for salvation instead of trying to save ourselves.
From there, discipleship becomes a consistent way of life. Worshiping with the church, giving generously, serving others, and participating in Christian community are not merely religious activities. God uses these practices to shape our hearts.
Eventually, following Jesus touches everywhere we go.
It changes how I enter work on Monday morning. It changes how I speak to people, how I serve my neighbors, and how I respond to sorrow, success, disappointment, and joy. I begin bringing the hope and peace of Christ into ordinary places.
That is what it means to live as a citizen of His Kingdom.
Princes will perish. Trends will disappear. Influence will fade. But Jesus will reign forever.
The question is not whether I am following someone. The question is whether the person I am following can truly save me.
Jesus can. And His invitation still stands: Follow Me.