Let Down at the Crucial Moment

     Ours is the God of the graphic description.  When the Lord wants us to formulate a clear conception of what He is communicating, He often uses a picturesque means of getting the message across. Hence, we find the Lord Jesus using vivid illustrations in the Sermon on the Mount and an abundance of parables, metaphors, and similes in the rest of His public ministry.  Proverbs likewise abounds in literary devices which God employs to bring home truth to us.  We find such a simile before us today: “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.”

     An unfaithful person upon whom you depend will fail you when you need him most.  A broken tooth and a dislocated foot will both cause continual pain.  Whether it is the constant dull ache or the sharp stab which makes us wince when we apply pressure, both are intolerable.  Neither can be relieved without intervention.  To place confidence in an unfaithful person produces the corresponding emotional result.

     How it grieves us when someone we thought we could count on lets us down.  A broken tooth or a foot out of joint also makes normal activity extremely difficult.  Even a little walk or a normal meal becomes an ordeal under such conditions.  It is the same when we place confidence in unfaithful folk. These defective parts also impede progress and so do their human counterparts.  Either will fail you at the critical moment.  Just a little pressure is all it takes to reveal what they really are.  One thing is certain, these defective parts will never rectify themselves.  If there is to be wholeness, then you must address the problem.  A broken tooth wants a dentist and a dislocated foot wants a doctor.

     Two thoughts come to mind in this connection.  First, Christ is the Great Physician who can successfully deal with those who have betrayed our trust.  Second, whereas unfaithful folk may fail us to our grief, Jesus never fails.  He is the Most Faithful One.  Lean upon your Beloved today.  Trust your Great Physician to correct these defective ones who have caused so much hurt.

Where the Bush is Burning
Tomm Tice