Jesus did not “entrust himself” or “have faith in” man. Not even the educated powerful leaders of his day. He knew “all men” and knew that the heart of man is forever deceitful. All men are tainted with a propensity to sin.

Who did Jesus turn to instead of the rich, the powerful, the skilled, the educated? Simple. “I do nothing unless I see the Father doing it”. Jesus relied on God the Father and nothing else!

How much pain would we avoid if we followed this simple truth! If we quit following man and instead followed God himself! All men, all preachers, all teachers will fail somehow because none are perfect. We find pain and disappointment when we put our faith and blind trust in man, any man. We set ourselves up for failure when we jump from church to church, seeking “the one” who can lead us, the one we can relax and trust.

We are called to follow the Holy Spirit, to discern for yourself, to spend time in prayer and study so that we might properly know truth. We are not called to be robots following blindly along with a church, a ministry, a man.

Sure, we respect those in authority, those with gifts, even the insight and wisdom of our neighbor. Sure we walk in humility and submission to the leadership God puts into place. But, BUT, we are each individually responsible for discerning “the truth” via the Holy Spirit.

In the end… When we all stand shoulder to shoulder, God will not ask “who did you follow”, He will ask “what did YOU do?” We are personally responsible for finding truth, for not being deceived.

You have a great gift! The comforter, the teacher, the Holy Spirit of God himself lives in His people to guide us into all truth. Knowing His voice is safety, is security in the storm.

Respect those God puts in our life, but have faith in God. Seek truth from the source and double check with others to avoid our own mistakes. Together we keep each other from straying off the path. None of us are too wise to fall, and none are an island to ourselves.