WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
NOVEMBER 30, 2025
TOPIC: BEWARE OF A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY
BY T. O. BANSO
“What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem, and you who feel secure in Samaria!” (Amos 6:1a New Living Translation).
Different things give people a false sense of security in life. It could be their wealth, position, family background, social class, education, and so on. These have a way of inflating people’s egos and giving them a false sense of security.
The LORD said in Amos 6:1a, “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, and trust in Mount Samaria” (New King James Version). The New Living Translation says, “What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem, and you who feel secure in Samaria!” The Israelites’ leaders, whom the other Israelites came to for help, lived an easy life and felt secure. They thought no evil could befall them (verse 1b).
However, the LORD had bad news for these wealthy people who had a false sense of security. They would be the first to be led into captivity, as Israel was not better than the other cities that had been destroyed because of their pride. The LORD said, “Go over to Calneh and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory? Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, who cause the seat of violence to come near; who lie on beds of ivory, stretch out on your couches, eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall” (Amos 6:2-4 New King James Version).
The LORD continued in verses 5-7: “Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments, and invent for yourselves musical instruments like David; who drink wine from bowls, and anoint yourselves with the best ointments, but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, and those who recline at banquets shall be removed” (New King James Version).
Note what the LORD said would happen to these wealthy people who have made their wealth their security and couldn’t imagine that their wealth could fail them. Don’t you see around you rich people who have spent money to secure their own safety? But is it always failproof? Aren’t the weaknesses of their security measures exposed at times? Maybe you are also guilty of false security, and you’ve been disappointed in the past.
Psalm 33:16-17 says, “No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength” (New King James Version). Also, the psalmist says in Psalm 44:6 that he will not trust in his bow; neither shall his sword save him
Indeed, the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes says that money is a defence. But this is relative. It must be put in a proper perspective. “For wisdom is a protection even as money is a protection, but the [excellent] advantage of knowledge is that wisdom shields and preserves the lives of its possessors” (Ecclesiastes 7:12 Amplified Bible). Beware of having a false sense of security because of your money or riches. Riches have limitations.
Money does not always protect. Therefore, nobody should allow it to give him a false sense of security. One must not allow security, even by the best-trained security personnel that money can provide, to give one a false sense of security. The security officers are human beings, not God. Their weapons are physical, not spiritual.
Isaiah 31:3 puts it this way: “Now the Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses are flesh and not spirit; and the Lord will stretch out His hand, and he (Egypt) who helps will stumble, and he (Judah) who is helped will fall, and all of them will perish together” (New King James Version). Instead of the house of Israel repenting and returning to the LORD, they had a false sense of security. But the LORD said in Amos 9:10, “All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us’” (New King James Version).
The prosperity of the wicked is for a short time. “Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors” (Psalm 73:18-19 New King James Version).
True security is in God. “Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain. (Psalm 30:7a New Living Translation). The New King James Version puts it thus: “Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong.” Psalm 125:2 says, “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever” (New King James Version). This is divine security.
Your family background, societal status, education, good job, fat bank accounts, human relationships, and the rest cannot give you true security. Whoever feels secure because of any of these things is deceiving himself. These things can fail at any time without warning. Many people have lost their wealth, jobs, relationships, and other things that once made them feel secure.
The LORD says, “‘Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain,’ says the Lord, ‘Who say, ‘Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter our dwellings?’ But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings,’ says the Lord; ‘I will kindle a fire in its forest, and it shall devour all things around it’” (Jeremiah 21:13-14 New King James Version).
The prophet Isaiah says, “The voice said, ‘Cry out!’ And he said, ‘What shall I cry?’ ‘All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8 New King James Version).
Don’t let anything give you a false sense of security. Don’t trust in horses and chariots; trust in the Lord. David says, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright” (Psalm 20:7-8 New King James Version). Don’t make anything earthly your security.
The writer of Psalm 147 says the LORD does not delight in the strength of the horse and takes no pleasure in the legs of a man (verse 10). He takes pleasure in those who fear Him – in those who hope in His mercy (verse 11).
Beware of a false sense of false security. Proverbs 21:31 says the horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the LORD. Don’t make any man your security. Isaiah 2:22 says, “Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they?” (New Living Translation).
The Lord likes to show those who trust in things other than Him as their security that He is God. He humbles them. God says in Ezekiel 39:6, “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord” (New King James Version). Don’t let God show you negatively that He is the Lord.
He said concerning the Ammonites, who were the descendants of Lot, “‘Why do you boast in the valleys, Your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? Who trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who will come against me?’ Behold, I will bring fear upon you,’ Says the Lord God of hosts, ‘From all those who are around you; you shall be driven out, everyone headlong, and no one will gather those who wander off’” (Jeremiah 49:4-5 New King James Version).
Where is your security? Is it in God or something or somebody else? That song says, “On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.” What are you standing on as your security other than Jesus Christ?
The Bible also warns those who have a false sense of security spiritually. Some have a false sense of eternal security even as they live their lives practising sin. Those who believe that they are spiritually secure should be sure that they truly are. Otherwise, their claims mean nothing. Whoever thinks he stands should take heed lest he falls (1 Corinthians 10:12).
Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23 New King James Version).
Many rich people derive a false sense of security from their wealth. They sometimes don’t see the need to give their lives to Jesus, thinking that salvation or being again is for poor people only. That’s why Jesus says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25). “Riches will not provide security in the day of wrath and judgment, but righteousness rescues from death” (Proverbs 11:4 Amplified Bible). What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26).
Beware of a false sense of security.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you must give your heart to Jesus now. Please take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your heart. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church. There, they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me, and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I invite Jesus into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, You are my security. Thank You for always watching over me. I shall not trust in chariots or in horses, but I will remember the name of the Lord. O Lord, let Your favour make me as secure as a mountain. Father, according to Your Word, surround me as the mountains surround Jerusalem. Holy Spirit, convict the sinners who trust in their wealth to repent of their false sense of security and to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
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