Living Relationally while Trusting the Lord

Our Sunday series of Route 66 Relationships has been focusing on the vertical-horizontal relationship that we have with God, being the vertical foundation and source in which we engage every horizontal relationship we have with anyone in this life. There are countless engagements to consider, but every situation can come back to one question: Did you trust the Lord and act accordingly in the moment? Our circumstances will always change, but our trust in the Lord should always be evident in our lives.

During the exile period of Israel, the leadership of Judah interpreted Jeremiah’s prophecy as an evil will spoken against Israel, while neglecting God’s claim that it was punishment for their rebellion. This led King Zedekiah to allow the military leadership to seal Jeremiah in a cistern where death would be inevitable for Jeremiah, until a certain foreigner acted.
 
Jeremiah 38:4-13

The reasoning from the leadership was merely based on patriotism, but their patriotism overshadowed their submission to the Lord, leaving them to only fight for their own welfare. Ebed-melech went straight to the king when he heard of the evil that was done to Jeremiah. Ebed-melech knew that it was evil because Jeremiah was a prophet of God. He showed care by considering that Jeremiah would need some comfort to keep him from being scared by the rescue attempt.

The actions of Ebed-melech were not forgotten. When Jerusalem fell to Babylon, there is a record of a prophecy that was given to Ebed-melech. The Lord told him through Jeremiah that he would be saved because he trusted the Lord (Jeremiah 39:17). He trusted the Lord and approached the king to call for Jeremiah’s life to be saved.

What do your relationship engagements look like when you trust the Lord? Are you standing up for someone who cannot stand up for themselves? Are you seeking to restore a relationship by living by God’s word? Take a step in your relationships to trust the Lord and live a life that gives glory to the Lord.