Learning To Trust In God And Not Myself Or Others

In summary of Jeremiah 17:5-8 it says,

“This is what the Lord says: ‘A curse is placed on those who trust other people, who depend on humans for strength, who have stopped trusting the Lord.  6 They are like a bush in a desert that grows in a land where no one lives, a hot and dry land with bad soil.  They don’t know about the good things God can give.  7 But the person who trusts in the Lord will be blessed.  The Lord will show him that he can be trusted.  8 He will be strong, like a tree planted near water that sends its roots by a stream.  It is not afraid when the days are hot; its leaves are always green.

It does not worry in a year when no rain comes; it always produces fruit.’”

Bottom Line:

The Lord does not give favor to those who put their trust in other people, the ones who rely on just human strength and have turned their hearts away from him.  For them they are like a bush where no one lives, a hot and dry land with bad soil.  They are unaware of the good things God provides.  However a person who trusts in the Lord will be blessed.  The Lord will show him how he can be trusted for he will be more like a strong tree planted near water, it’s roots have a constant supply of nourishment.

What this means to me:

God will not show favor to those who have turned their hearts away from Him.  They put their trust in themselves or in others for strength.  Jeremiah goes as far as saying that they are cursed for doing this.  In my own life I find that only God is one who can be fully trusted.  As I have put my trust in him, he has proven his trustworthiness over and over again.  When I stay plugged into God as my source of strength it is like planting myself near a source of constant nourishment.  In the tough times I can turn to him for what I need.  In this verse Jeremiah indicates that people have a universal heart problem (putting ourselves first) and that at times our hearts can deceive us about what is best.  When we don’t look to God as our source, what we get is what culture points us to; which is all about ourselves and fulfilling our desires.  We tend to rely on our own strengths or count on others to come through for us.  The problem with this approach is that people can not give us what God can.  They will often disappoint us because they too are only looking out for themselves.  I believe the curse comes in the fact that I would miss out on the best he had planned for me by putting the focus on myself or what others can do for me.  I will only hurt myself.  When I put God first, he will point me the right direction and show me the blessings that come from living a life the way he designed it.