Scripture:
Jeremiah 17:5-10 NKJV
[5] Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. [6] For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. [7] “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. [8] For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. [9] “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? [10] I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
Observation:
This scripture comes to mind often, especially when I’m facing challenges that require a great deal of faith. It’s easy to get caught up in what things look like, and Jeremiah was directed by GOD to guide the Israelites back to where they needed to focus on. So as the LORD began to speak to him, he started relaying the message to GOD’S chosen people, and he wastes no time getting right to the point by saying if you trust in man you will always be left dry, empty, and lacking the things you need for survival. As he is making this reference he uses an illustration of something that needs provisions provided outside of itself. Drawing us a picture of a shrub planted in a dry and waterless land. Now we all know that a shrub can not survive without what GOD HIMSELF provides. So to plant one out in the desert and expect it to thrive would be a ridiculous notion. That’s the picture Jeremiah is painting for us. The shrub would need a sufficient source of nutrients that could not be provided by anyone but GOD. Therefore, as Jeremiah begins to draw this illustration in our mind, he wants to paint us a picture of what it looks like to trust in the LORD and lean not on our own understanding. Planting yourself right next to the source of everything you need. It’s not a really difficult picture to paint. Just looking at the contrast that Jeremiah gives us here. It’s easy to see that trusting GOD over ourselves or man in general is clearly a better route. The scripture that comes to my mind as I am typing is out of Exodus, as Moses stands at a bush that is on fire but not consumed, asking Who shall I say sent me, and the LORD says Tell them ‘I AM’ sent you. Another way that this is said in the bible is by a name that is given to the LORD, “El shaddai” which means the all sufficient one. This picture is powerful to me, and I love the way Jeremiah brings it together in such a way that an uneducated man such as myself can understand it. You see what the LORD is telling HIS people through the prophet Jeremiah is that if they trust what they can do they will always be lacking the things they need. This is one of the lessons HE was teaching them in the wilderness as they wondered around not trusting that HE is the “I AM”, in other words HE is what they need. But instead, they wanted to trust in their emotions and cry when they didn’t have what they felt like they needed. I find the wilderness experience to be to be somewhat humorous as I look at it today sometimes. It was like GOD was saying, “Oh, you’re hungry, have some bread, oh, you’re thirsty, have some water, oh, you’re getting bitten by snakes, look to the savior.” HE was providing everything they needed, yet still at the edge of the promised land they still didn’t trust that HE was, “I AM” or that HE was all sufficient. They were still led away by their emotions. That’s why Jeremiah paints this picture and finishes it up with the statement, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it. The LORD searches the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doing.
Application:
The longer we walk with the LORD the easier it is to trust in HIM over us. I don’t know about you but I will mess it up every time. I have to place things in HIS hands. I’m not sufficient to deal with the things that come up in my life. We have to trust what HE has told us, and in a world that is starting to venture off into areas where you can’t trust what you see. Those who walk by faith are going to be the only ones who will be clearly navigating the way HE would have us go. The question is, who are you truly trusting? It’s easy to be deceived. The only way to correctly navigate this world today is to spend personal time in GOD’S word. Planting yourself in it, becoming rooted right next to the life-giving source of everything you need. The question is are you trusting in man to determine what you believe about GOD, or are you eating meat for yourself? Are you trusting in the work of your hands or are you trusting the the LORD is sufficient. I’m going to be completely honest here. I tend to constantly put myself in positions where I absolutely have to trust GOD. In a world where faith is all we have, we have to see that GOD is all we need. Because I know that without HIM. I will never be enough. We have to understand that we can not do it no matter how hard we try. We can not trust ourselves we have to place our faith in what HE has said. HE is the “I AM” HE is the only one who is sufficient. It will never happen any other way. If you like being dry, empty, and without what you need. Continue to trust in yourself or some man who will lead you astray. I’m going to put my trust in what GOD has said. I’m placing my faith in the fact that HE has built a church that will storm the gates of hell with a water pistol. It’s time to trust HIM over anyone or anything else. Get in HIS word and find out what HE says about who you are. Put on your armor, get off the church pew, and get in the fight. If HE says you can, then do it. There is nothing impossible for HIM. I trust that who HE is in you will rise to the occasion, and we will fight side by side. Armor up the battle is raging.
Prayer:
Father, we trust in you over everything else. We know that you have brought us to this very moment, and with you all things are possible. We know that we can not trust ourselves emotions, so we have made you the LORD of our life. That means you call the shots. Because you say its is ours we believe you, because you say we can we will move, because you say theses are the signs that will follow those who believe we will stand here ready to fight for the least of these, setting captives free, and kicking down gates. We do not rejoice in the fact that we can, but in what you did. You have broken every chain, and we are so grateful. You are everything we need, and we trust in you. We trust that you have placed us here for such a time as this. Its in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.