TRUSTING IN THE ONE WHO WILL NEVER FAIL YOU by Robert Soto

TRUSTING IN THE ONE WHO WILL NEVER FAIL YOU by Robert Soto

March 12, 2010

Psalm 13:4-5 "...my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation."

My heart was heavy all day long. It was not because of my recent heart problem that made me end up at our heart hospital for three days, but just a sad feeling. I couldn't figure it out until I read an e-mail that someone had sent me. Under the title Historic Trauma it mentioned the 20 to 30 million Indian people who died at the hands of the Europeans, the unjust effects of the boarding school system, the widespread belief that we are an inferior race without the ability to think for ourselves apart from those who came across the ocean and finally, the hundreds of broken treaties given to us by the whites in which only one promise was fulfilled: they promised to take our land and they did. It was then that it hit me -it was March 11th. For most people this date means nothing but for some of us, it was the day the federal government came in to our pow wow and violated the belief that the circle was sacred and took away 42 of our eagle feathers.

This happened four years ago, on March 11th. We surrendered the feathers with the promise of suing the Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife for the violation of religious and sacred rights as Indians. It has been a long four-year battle and I have learned a lot from the event. Not so much over the use of eagle feathers which I already knew, but just how little rights we have as American Indians. That the United States government and all their political officials only care for one thing: your vote - then they forget to fulfill their obligations as our representatives. I have learned that sometimes the battle to correct the wrong is a long and lonely battle. But first and foremost, that promises are not meant to be kept by those you trust. They say they want what is best for you, but in the end it is what is best for them. So then who can we trust? While the white man has done his best to annihilate us, God the Creator has been alongside of us through the bright days and the bad days. David, when all had come against him said, "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation." It is the hand of God the Creator who will in the end bring us out of darkness into His light. But until then, we continue to fight for what is right and trust God the Creator that we are doing the right thing.

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor of:

McAllen Grace Brethren Church
The Native American New Life Center
Chief of Chiefs Christian Church