Scripture:
Jeremiah 17:5-13 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. [11] “As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, So is he who gets riches, but not by right; It will leave him in the midst of his days, And at his end he will be a fool.” [12] A glorious high throne from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary. [13] O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. “Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the Lord, The fountain of living waters.”
Observation:
I know this is one of the scriptures that I have written about several times. It’s one that a lot of people have small portions of memorized. It seems like the portion they like to commit to memory is verses 7 and 8, and I see why they are great international verses. But there is so much said that we can’t just take little pieces of it Jeremiah is probably one of my favorite prophetic writers. Well to be honest I could say that about a lot of these whom the Holy Spirit used to compose what we know as the Bible. As I was meditating on GOD’S word last night, I was just looking for something that would encourage my heart. When I came across this I had to just stop for a minute. It’s what I needed to hear. So as we start to process through it this more I hope it has the same impact on your life that it had on mine every time I read it. I believe there are some keys given to us here that can help us in what we go through in our daily life. Starting at the first verse that was chosen for us this morning we see who is speaking. Although Jeremiah’s hand is the one who is writing, what is being said is from the LORD. What is brought to our attention right out of the gate is who we should place our trust in, and it’s not man. Taking a look at what was going on in that time, we see that GOD’S people were trapped in a similar situation that we find ourselves in today. They were trusting in political parties, and military alignment, rather than GOD HIMSELF. As we had the opportunity to read in yesterday’s SOAP, GOD is a jealous GOD, as HE brings to explain to HIS people here in the 17th chapter exactly who they should be placing their trust in. HE starts by saying man will leave you empty and defeated, “Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. 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. Can you see the picture that is painted… empty, dry, desolate, parched, thirsty, and going without. As HE continues to redirect the attention of HIS people to HIM, HE speaks some promises to them. Promises that pertain to us as well due to the adoption process that took place the day we ask Jesus to be the LORD of our lives. Trusting in the LORD leads to a better place. Let’s take a look at what the word says. As we do we run into the verses that most of us who know the bible a little bit know, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is in the LORD. GOD wanted HIS people to know where they needed to place their trust. It’s something HE had been trying to teach them for several hundred years. Abraham trusted HIM, packed up his whole family including his nephew and moved to a land that he wasn’t even aware of until he got there, and the next thing we hear about him is that his nephew and him had too many possessions and animals to dwell in the same place. His trust in the LORD brought increases that were beyond what he could see when GOD spoke to him in the land that he resigned in at the time. As Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, GOD continued to teach them to trust HIM, providing Manna, water, healing, and everything else they needed. Several hundred years later, we stand at the same lesson. Trust in the LORD. As we can see through the stories in the Bible it’s a lesson that can be hard to learn, but there is a promise attached to that kind of trust, well several of them if we pay attention. Just reading through verse 8 should lift our spirits and allow us to see what GOD has in store for those who trust HIM, “For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river.” Man just looking at that small portion of the promise should bring a light to our eyes, but it doesn’t stop there, and as my time starts to draw to a close I feel like I’m going to have to short change us on the depth of this scripture. But what if see being said there is a man who trust in the LORD is solid and not movable the river is a picture of the LORD HIMSELF, providing everything that is needed for the tree to continue to grow and be strengthened, without fear of not having what it needs. Through spiritual dry times the needs will still be met. Tucked away here in verse 9 we see a warning of the competition that GOD has… our emotions. They are deceitful and wicked, stealing the attention from where it needs to be. These things are put in the Bible for us. They serve as a path for our feet. As we move on to verse 10, I think it’s important to see what’s being said there as well, then we will have to move quickly through the rest, “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. GOD tests where our trust is. Looking at the last few verses we see the importance of trusting and doing things GOD’S way. Man’s way leads to nothing, but trusting in what HE has is the only way to bring about what is needed. We can’t forget that. HE is the source of everything we need.
Application:
I want to be that tree. The one that is planted by the water. As I look at the way things are going right now it’s easy to want to run after what my emotions tell me. But that’s not going to help anything at all. When we trust in the LORD we tend to lean in on HIM when things are not looking the way we want them to. HE word is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path. Our emotions will take us away from GOD, they are temporary, but what HIS word says is eternal, it doesn’t change according to how we feel. Here is the problem… they feel so real, but that’s a tool of the enemy. As I was writing that statement, I’m drawn to a portion of scripture. After Jesus had fasted for 40 days the enemy tempted HIM. A very important statement was made at the end of that process, “Satan left HIM for a more opportune time.” That time was in the garden of pressing. The night HE was arrested and taken to be crucified. HIS emotions were all messed up, HE was sweating blood. But HE trusted in GOD’S plan over how HE felt. That’s where we have to be in all of this. It looked like the end, it looked like it was over. But GOD had other plans. I’m not sure where you’re at, but I know where I am. We can’t trust in man, or what they say, or what it looks like… we have to trust in GOD… and nothing else. Standing on HIS word and being unmovable, unwavering, unshakable. Trusting that HE will give us exactly what we need exactly when we need it. The abundant life came to the Israelites through trusting what the LORD said. Joshua and Caleb did just that. They reported according to what GOD had promised, not according to what it looked like. Sure victory was given and they knew it. They did not let the emotions of fear and anxiety lead what they knew to be true, nor did they let what man said sway their opinion of what GOD had said, and 40 years after that report was given they were able to do exactly what was said by GOD, entering into a land flowing with milk and honey. Trusting GOD over man and how we feel is the only answer. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, HE has planted you right by the water spread out your roots.
Prayer:
Father,trusting you can prove to be difficult at times because everything around us looks like what you said is wrong, but your word is the only truth we have. We can not trust what we see. We have to stand on what you say. So we ask you today to help our unbelief. In those moments when what we see looks different from what you say. We will stand on what you say over what we see. You are our LORD. That means what you say goes and that’s that. You have already won this battle so there is no need for us to be fighting. Our job is to show up and trust that you will guide the stone from the sling to the forehead of the giant. We trust that you have done what you said. We are planted and rooted on you and nothing else. Help us to see that paying off. Because we are not moving. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.