This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the LORD.
They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.
blessed are those who trust in the LORD
and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.” Jeremiah 17: 5-8
and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.” Jeremiah 17: 5-8
In his book, Who Are You (When No One’s Looking), Pastor/leader Bill Hybels writes:
“Every single day we make choices that show whether we are courageous or cowardly. We choose between the right thing and the convenient thing, sticking to a conviction or caving in for the sake of comfort, greed or approval. We choose either to take a carefully thought-out risk or to crawl into a shrinking shell of safety, security and inactivity. We choose either to believe in God and trust him, even when we do not always understand his ways, or to second-guess him and cower in the corners of doubt and fear.”
Courageous or cowardly. Convicted or caving. Risk-taker or excuse maker.
Do we trust God or does doubt run our lives?
Today’s verse looks at both types of people. Two groups...both loved by God...but with decidedly different paths and outcomes. The first, those who rely on people (or their own strength), are compared to a shrub in the desert. Tumbleweed. Dry...no destination...no hope. Why? Because people shift... their wisdom is finite...their loyalty seems ironclad but can rust away. Even our closest most Godly friends are limited by the flesh they wear. Can we trust them with a secret? Sure. Can we trust them to do what God can in our lives. Impossible. In fact, look at the first part of the passage... God says in His word that we are cursed when we put all of our trust in the creation rather than the Creator. People are great but God is infinitely greater.
So where should we place our trust? Our hope? Our confidence?
“blessed are those who trust in the LORD
and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.”
and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.”
God is worthy of our trust. Our faith in Him as we make decisions is vital in our effort to reaching our God potential. He promises in today’s passage that if we trust and lean on Him, we will bear fruit... that no matter what happens... drought, loss, challenge, circumstance, sickness, pain, fear, separation, agony, confusion, arguments, or hurt... we will still bear fruit. We will still shine in His light. We will still overcome. We will still be champions.
We will still be His.
No matter what.
And we can still change the world for Christ... in spite of our circumstances. The storms might be blowing, but, in Him, your roots go deep. You are planted in the living water. You are mightier than you think you are. You are God’s child.
This morning, when you turned off the alarm clock...God whispered something to you. Most of us don’t hear it because our minds immediately start tracking the to-do list or checking our Twitter feed. He does it every morning... and if you listen for it, I guarantee you’ll start to hear it. It’s the same three short phrases. Every single day your lungs take in air... God says to you:
I love you.
Let Me handle today.
You can trust Me.
We CAN trust Him... in spite of circumstances and because of His greatness... we can bear fruit.
