TRUSTING GOD

“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord…Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.” – Jeremiah 17:5-8 NASB

Born in Munich on this day in 1864, Richard Strauss influenced music and culture throughout Europe and the United States. A dynamic composer and talented conductor, his music celebrated the human character.

To the general public, he is best remembered as the composer of the fanfare opening of the movie, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” This was taken from his “Thus Spake Zarathustra,” based on the book by notorious atheist Frederick Nietzsche.

Strauss called his “Alpine Symphony” an “Anti-Christian” work, “because in it there is moral purification by means of one’s own strength, liberation through work, worship of glorious, eternal nature.”

Even on his deathbed, Strauss continued to hold to his twisted convictions. Just before dying in September 1949, he commented to his daughter-in-law, “Dying is just the way I composed it in ‘Death and Transfiguration,’” referring to a piece he had written in 1889. But there was no evidence he ever recognized the reality of God or even considered seeking Him in his life.

 There are many people in the world who are like Strauss, confident in themselves, trusting in their own abilities. Yet the Bible warns that those who trust in themselves are “cursed.”

 If you want to be blessed by God, you cannot trust in your own resources, skills, or abilities. Instead, trust in the Lord and seek to serve Him.