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):
17:5Â 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.
17:6Â 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.
17:7Â My blessing is on those people who trust in me,
who put their confidence in me.
17:8Â 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
Sherry Deer Park, Tx
Psalm 143:1 NIV
O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.
Kristi from Lee’s Summit, MO
And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
And he said to him, “Truly “I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:42 ESV
My small group and I will be memorizing the following:
Psalms 57:10-11
For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.
Andria from Northern Virginia:
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because whenhe has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12 NIV
If you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking, But when you ask Him be sure that you really expect Him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:5-6 NLT
1 Corinthians 2:9
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—
NIV
Holly, Colorado Speings
“But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.” Psalm 73:28 (NIV)
Hannah, Lake Charles, LA
“Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”
Ephesians 6:19 NIV
Pam, Apple Valley, MN
Pam, Apple Valley, MN
For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light
Ephesians 5:8 NIV
Terri from Winchester, VA
“And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews11:6 NIV
Are you the Terri Tripp who used to work at Dembo, Jones and Healy ?
I noticed your name when I went to enter my verse. This is Jean David Filuk (now Grant)
Debbie, Fort Thomas, KY
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.
Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Jenni, Birmimgham, AL
“Instantly the father of the child exclaimed, “I do trust-help my lack of trust!” Mark 9:24 (CJB)
Too good not to copy
Crissy, Austin. My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me. Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Kelley, Des Moines Wa niv, james 1:6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
Carolyn R.
Houston, TX
Delight yourself in The Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 NIV
O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation.
Psalm 5:3 NIV
Debbie, White Lake, MI
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Col. 3:15 NIV
Kim Eshelman Lewisburg, PA
Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
You established the earth and it endures.
Psalm 119:90 NIV
Evansville,IN
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10 NIV
July 15th-(I didn’t get it posted-sorry)
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” Psalm 62:5 NIV
Fairview, TN
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV
Kelly, Glenwood, MD ” Now may the Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.” 2 Thess. 2:15-17 ESV
Oh my goodness!!!!! These verses are the same ones that I have been meditating on and memorizing all summer. Thank you for your teaching on them in this post. I have been going on further to…the heart is deceitful above all things. Wow.
Maria
Oxford, MS
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26 NIV
Angie Martens
Purcellville, VA
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
Brianna
Huntsville, AL
I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4 KJV)
Dawn
Silver Spring, MD
Psalm 46:10 (ESV)
“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth!”
My blessing is on the people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me.
Jeremiah 17:7
Tammy
Cincinnati
Kelly Haigler, Wingate, NC
But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made The Lord their hope and confidence. Jeremiah 17:7 NLT
Kay S
Lake Lure, Nc
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6: 33 (NKJV)
Cindy
Chandler, OK
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.
1 Corinthians 16:13 (NIV)
Teresah, Redmond Oregon “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NLT
Diane, Durham NC
Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
Isaiah 59:1 NIV
Margaret Ann, Pacific Junction, IA
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV
Thanks for this Beth. I needed to read this today and decided to memorize your verse
My blessing is on those people who trust Me, who put their confidence in Me
Jeremiah 17:7 NET
Jenna, Kansas City
God is strong and can help you not fall Jude 24
Tajuana ~ Texas
“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything
too hard for me?”
Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV)
Sherilyn R, Warsaw, IN
My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me.
Jeremiah 17:7 (NET Bible)
Jenny, Tulsa, OK
James 1:2 NASB
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials”
Carol, The Woodlands, TX
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
James 1:19-20 NIV
God is strong and can help you not to fall. NCV
Joyce
Sparta, NJ
“Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12
God is strong and can help you not to fall (NCV)
Jude 24
Sandra, Rock Hill, SC
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:4 NIV
Be holy because I the God your God am holy
Leviticus 19:12
Laurin, Harrisburg, NC – “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in who we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14 NIV
Chattanooga, TN
Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
Psalm 25:4 NRSV
Nancy, Lufkin, TX.
Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name. 2 Samuel 22:50 (NIV)
Allison from Cincinnati, OH
Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34 HCSB
Kim,
Warrensburg, MO
James 3:1-5a (NLT)
3 Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.