Hey, Everybody!
Soon after this post is published, I’ll be on a plane to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for this weekend’s Living Proof Live. I love going to the Dakotas so I am filled with joy over the privilege to serve there and anticipating God’s gracious and obvious (please let it be, Lord) presence crowded around us and welling up within us. Please pray for Jesus to be exalted, experienced, and enthroned there and for many to be saved and stunningly delivered.
My Scripture memory selection this week is springing up from my Monday morning reading there in my den at home. I’ve mentioned many times that I use a different translation for my devotional and prayer time so that the words will fall particularly fresh on me and so that, if the reading happens to be a familiar segment, I can’t anticipate it and unintentionally dismiss it. The translation I often use is The NET Bible. I’m going to give you the whole segment I read Monday morning so that you’ll see the verse I’ve chosen this time around in its context. This is Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NET):
17:5 The LORD says,
“I will put a curse on people
who trust in mere human beings,
who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength,
and whose hearts have turned away from the LORD.
17:6 They will be like a shrub in the desert.
They will not experience good things even when they happen.
It will be as though they were growing in the desert,
in a salt land where no one can live.
17:7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me,
who put their confidence in me.
17:8 They will be like a tree planted near a stream
whose roots spread out toward the water.
It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.
Its leaves are always green.
It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought.
It does not stop bearing fruit.
If you are like me, you found the way the NET translates the very first verse (V.5) a little disturbing. You’ll be relieved to know this isn’t the Scripture I’ve chosen to memorize (smiling) but it still needs addressing so that we’re not too distracted by it to engross ourselves in the remainder of the segment. If you’re familiar with the passage, you are probably more accustomed to wording like the NIV: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man.” The fact that the NET makes God the one “putting” the curse on man makes us squirm. Before we let it tie us in a knot and throw us in a lake of fear, we have to remind ourselves of our position in Christ. We have the glorious benefit of living this side of the completed work of the Cross and resurrection.
Galatians 3:13 says to our great relief: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.'”
Jeremiah 17:5 is still tremendously relevant to us because it unfolds the misery of counting on mere flesh and blood. I wonder if the “curse” talked about in this verse is of the same ilk as the one in Genesis 3 that came directly from God to man after the fall in the Garden. If Adam and Eve were doing anything at all when they ate from that tree, they were shifting their trust from God to themselves – mere flesh and blood – by attempting to be God-like. Though the Cross of Christ bore the curse for us, we can still endure the desolation that invariably results from placing our trust and confidence in people rather than God. This gets us where we’re going in our post today. Look back at Jeremiah 17:6 because this is the part that totally captivated me.
“They will be like a shrub in the desert. They will not experience good things even when they happen.”
Read it again if you need to but don’t proceed until you’ve tried to absorb that second sentence. Have you ever been right in the middle of something good happening and yet missed the full experience and joyful impact of it? Surely you’ve said silently to yourself as I’ve said to myself, “I should really be happy right now. What is wrong with me??” You know the feeling. You’re in a celebration or service of some kind or a holiday gathering and yet you almost feel detached from it. You’re there. But you are somehow disconnected from experiencing it. You know “it” (the positive thing presently happening) but you can’t feel it. It’s a good thing but you don’t feel good about it…or in it. What on earth is that about?
Jeremiah would suggest that the experience of good can be disconnected from the good because we are in a season of shifted trust from God to man. When we’ve set our hopes for happiness in how well all our people are doing…getting along…flourishing…affirming us…satisfying us…and all-around-generally-blessing us, and we even get a glimmer of it, we can’t experience the good because we know down deep that we can’t hold onto it. As much as we love all our people, we know that, ultimately, they are not going to come through for us. One shoe will drop. Then the other. The disappointment will come. And the harmony we feel for this moment with our fellow humans could at any second flip upside down into complete mayhem.
Notice the part that says “they will be like a shrub in the desert.” Isn’t it ironic that the more we depend on flesh and blood to come through for us and to fulfill us, the more isolated we become? You’d think that numbers alone would insure company and community. In other words, why derive our strengths and confidences from one God when we could get infinitely more out of all these people? Out of all these communities? Out of all our fellow church members? Out of all our Facebook friends? Our fellow tweeters? Company is one click away.
But it never works that way, does it? We never can let down our guard completely and find any shred of real security from flesh and blood. The person obsessed with us today can turn on us tomorrow and we know it. The person who makes life worth living for us today could die on us tomorrow and we know it. I don’t mean to be morose. I just mean to point out the emotional tightrope we’re walking. Being vastly people-oriented rather than God-oriented always ends up taking us to a place of isolation because they’re invariably busy when we want to play, invariably distracted when we want attention, and invariably more taken with themselves than with us. And so, there we sit, with our trust and confidence in mere flesh and blood and we end up feeling like a shrub in a desert. Just as Jeremiah 17:6 says, “It will be as though [we] are growing in the desert, in a salt land where no one can live.”
Trust in man can seem a great place to visit but no one can really live there and come out calling it living.
It’s so odd to me that the more drawn I feel to God and the more taken I become with His Presence, the freer I am to love other people and the less I hold them responsible for me. Community with God increases our “experience” of good in a community of people. It is its own paradox.
And all of this brings us to the verse I have chosen for my memory work this time around:
Beth, Houston. My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me. Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
And what earthly difference would that make? Well, let’s see…
“They will be like a tree planted near a stream whose roots spread out toward the water. It has nothing to fear when the heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought. It does not stop bearing fruit.”
Notice a very intriguing contrast hidden in Jeremiah 17:8 – “It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.”
Reflect back on 17:6b – “They will not experience good things even when [good things] happen.”
When we place our confidence in mere flesh and blood, we are shortchanged even when good things happen. When we place our confidence in God, the Immortal Invisible, we have nothing to fear even when hard things happen. The former leaves us a dry shrub. The latter makes us a fruit-bearing tree.
We never get this lesson learned once and for all, do we? Or maybe it’s just me. I still get so tempted to put my confidence in people and to think that, if all my loved ones were safe, well, and flourishing, I could be so happy. The truth of it is, I do want those things for my loved ones but God alone can come through for them and for me. Anyway, at the end of the day, I could have everything this world could offer and all the good that man could possibly do me and still sit back and think, “Why doesn’t it feel better than this?”
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.
Let’s hear your verses, Sisters!
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Jenna, Cedar Park
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me. Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Aug1st Hebrews 10:24NlT Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.
Judy from Gladwin, MI
“no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.”
Psalm 91:10 (NIV)
“Those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
Isaiah 51:11
Shelley, Birmingham, AL—Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8 NKJV)
Johnston, Iowa
Your throne is founded on two strong pillars-righteousness and justice. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
Psalm 89:14
Jessica from Clare, MI
“no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.”
Psalm 91:10 (NIV)
Melissa
Grand junction, CO
“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14 NIV
Cathy Morris Sedona, AZ 2Cor 3:18 NIV
“And we who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Tonya from Eucha, OK “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.” Acts 4:12 HCSB
Kendra Husband, Charlotte, NC:
“The LORD will perfect that which concerns me: Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of your hands.” NKJ
Psalm 138:8 (reference for verse above)
Suzy Myers
Bay Springs, MS
John 16:33 (NIV)
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Gina from Ruston, LA
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10 NIV)
Melissa, San Antonio.
Galatians 2:20 (NIV84)
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Xan, Cullman, AL
Aug. 1, 2013
Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Matt. 6:33-34
NLT
Sheryl Blake, Niles, MI
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29 NIV)
Nelda Adkins, Houston, TX
Philippians 4:8(ESV)
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Ambur, Fulton, MO ‘Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.’ Romans 12:12 NIV
Trina
Midland Tx
Isaiah 32:17 NIV
The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.
W.Richland
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
Jeremiah 17:7 NIV
Connor, Spicewood, TX
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Tracy, Tangent, OR
NKJV Col 3:18 18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Nancy, Lee’s Summit, MO
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20 NASB
Search me o god and know my heart test me and know my anxious thoughts .
Ps :139:23 Nlt. San Bernardino Ca.
Pat Stokes
Portland, Texas
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its on. Matthew 6:33-34. (NIV)
Sharon, Riverside, Ca.
Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk 3:2 NIV
Caitlin Long
Demopolis, AL
“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.” Psalm 51:15 NIV
Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.
-1 Chronicles 4:10
Kay, Plainview, TX
“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.”
Psalm 30:11-12
NIV
Ange & Bitsy Girl, Idaho. 1 Sam 16:7b God looks at your heart.
Nicole from Lewisville TX
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2 NIV)
Marsha – Lees Summit, MO
Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all people. 1 Chronicles 16:24 NSV
Allison from Nashville, TN
Joshua 1:5 (NAS) “No man will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.”
Dang, Beth. Thank you for that timely word today, and please stop reading my journal!
Corley in Conway, AR:
Psalm 73.26: My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Kristen Keeling from Covington, Ga
“O God, take notice of my shield! Show concern for your chosen king! Certainly spending just one day in your temple courts is better than spending a thousand elsewhere. I would rather stand at the entrance to the temple of my God than live in the tents of the wicked.”
Psalm 84:9-10 (NET)
Vicki, Peoria,IL
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 (NIV)
Kelley, Olive Branch, MS
A person’ s wisdom yields patience; it is one’s glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11 NIV
Ellen
TN
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known to God.
Phil. 4:6 NASB
Kim, Nashville, TN
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
Amy, Miamisburg, OH
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1 ESV)
Barbara, Birmingham,Al
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:13. NIV
Erika from McKinney, TX “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. “. Genesis 1:1 NIV
Jill,Searcy
“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”
1 Chronicles 29:14 NIV
Darcy, Pittsburgh
“A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 19:11 (NIV 1984)
Michele-Lubbock
Deuteronomy 30:6
“The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love HIM with all you heart and will all your soul, and live.” KJV
Sharon Allen, Redmond, WA.
The grass withers, the flower fades. The Word of our God shall stand forever.
Isaiah 40:8 ESV
Crystal from Phoenix
Jeremiah 32:17 NIV
Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.
Jeannine Hale
Eagan, MN
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV)
Jane, Bakersfield, CA
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”
Lamentations 3:25 ESV
Emily in Anchorage, AK
Psalm 103:7-8, NIV
“He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”