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He shall be as a tree planted by the waters...

Jeremiah 17:5-10 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall 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 try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

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Cursed is the man who trusts in man...and that includes trusting in ourselves! God told Jeremiah this in Jer 17:5. He continued by saying the opposite as well: “Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD” (Jer 17:7).

It appears we all have a choice in life:

a) We can choose to trust in (& ultimately worship) ourselves or some other man (an idol either way) and be cursed in the eyes of God, or
b) We can choose trust in the God of Heaven and earth who formed us from the dust and has the power to casts us into Hell --- and be blessed by God for it!

It doesn’t sound like too hard of a choice on the surface, but along with the blessing/cursing statement, God includes verse 9 of Jeremiah 17 into the mix...”The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”.

God doesn’t tell us “stuff” just to be telling us...this information is given for us in the context of this “conversation” for a reason! We must take care that we don’t let our hearts deceive us regarding our trust (and idolatry). So often our nature is to justify what we are thinking, saying or doing by couching it in the “name of ministry” or “just so you know how to pray”; and then we rattle off so much gossip, so much slander, so much judgment and criticism that there is no room for God’s hand of compassion, mercy or truth as we have already passed judgment and pronounced the sentence. Trusting God doesn’t just mean for our provision or our well-being...it means understanding that we are NOTHING and HE is EVERYTHING!

Think of Paul in Romans chapter 2 where he calls anyone who is judgmental “inexcusable”, and then tells us that if our behavior follows that pattern our hearts are hard. This is why Paul also told the church at Corinth to examine themselves as to whether they were in the faith – we have to heed the same call today as so often we trust in ourselves and not in God. So often because of our own pride and self-righteousness we place ourselves as a god instead of allowing THE LORD to be the Lord of our lives. So often we hinder God’s plans and quench His spirit when He simply wants to bless us as His children.

Remember when we were first saved and we had the faith and innocence and trust of a child...that is what God desires from us today as well! He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die in our place so that we might live forever...we therefore need to trust exclusively in Him and receive of the grace that He has given us gracefully.

Pray with me that our hearts are soft so that we might see what God sees in our hearts...

posted by Pastor Jim @ 6:36 AM