I once saw, in a house in which I was staying some years ago, a plaque, a very intriguing plaque.  A parody of Psalm 23:4 ("Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you [God] are with me"), it read, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for I am the meanest son of a b---- in the valley."  Some will find this amusing, some will find it blasphemous.  But the writer has, consciously or not, circumscribed for us two very different ways for living.
     One is to walk through life trusting in, no matter what, the goodness and protection of God for us.  The other is to walk through life trusting, no matter what, our strength and ability to overcome and master whatever it throws at us.  Ironically, though these seem diametrically opposite, they in fact work together to testify to some fundamental facts about existence.  If we assume that we are fully rational creatures made in the image of God, as Genesis tells us we are, we have every reason to put faith in our abilities and capacities to cope with the challenges of existence.  And why not:  God has made us effectual and, in our station, autonomous.  On the other hand, God presides over a world that, as we all know, malfunctions constantly, yet a world, though it may not seem like it, is one over which he exercises control.  He knows its form, he knows its destiny.  We have every reason to trust him.
     And we have every reason to trust ourselves, to trust ourselves to trust God with what we have been given, for we know that however we utilize what we have, we do so in a universe that ultimately is beyond our ability to master.
     We may well be the meanest son of a b---- in the valley, but even the meanest among us will never overcome the impact--personal and global--of his own brokenness and evil.
     We can't live without the help of God.