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
Beth, Robinson
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.”
Psalm 51:10 NLT
Tori,Robinson
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Mark 12:30 NLT
Allyson
League City TX
Allyson
League City TX
Psalm 86:13 ESV
“For great is your steadfast love toward me; You have delivered my soul from Sheol.”
Jessy from Houston, Tx:
“As scripture says, streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.”
~John 7:38 (GW)~
Linda, Delray Beach FL
“From now on brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and
if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things:
all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure,
all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise.”
Philippians 4:8 (CEB)
Mitzi from Midland, TX
O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation.
Psalm 5:3 NIV
Gwyn Tidwell of Haslet – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
8/1/13
Heidi Tracht, Idaho
Deuteronomy 10:12 (NLT) – A Call to Love and Obedience
“And now, Israel, what does the Lordyour God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.”
Sacha
Midland, TX
2 Timothy 3:17 (ESV)
“that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”
Kimberly Orr~Zionsville, Indiana
“Do all that you have in mind,” his armor bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” 1 Samuel 14:7 NIV 1984
Rebecca
Wiggins, MS
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.
Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Ramona, Pasadena, TX:
Zephaniah 3:17 NIV: The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Michele, Naperville, IL, “My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.”
Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise. ESV
Judith, Orillia, Canada
2 Peter 1:9 (NIV)
But if anyone does not have them (faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, love), he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sin.
Wynell, Athens, GA
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
“My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.” ~ Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Lori from Athens, Ga.:
Proverbs 31:11–12 (ESV)
“The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.”
Debi, Alva, FL
Jeremiah 32:17 Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. (NKJV)
Karon from Canton, NC
Stretch out Your hand from above; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters.
Psalm 144:7a NKJV
Tracee, Morristown, TN
All who worship God, come here and listen; I will tell you everything he has done for me.
Psalm 66:16 CEV
Sue, Kingsport.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
Cynthia, Missouri
And that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.
Phillipians 1:14 NASB
Wanda
Osborn, Missouri
Jeremiah 17:7 (NET)
My blessing is on those people who
trust in Me, who put their confidence
in Me.
Marisa, Michigan
1 Chronicles 28:20
Be strong and courageous, and do the work.
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you.
Suzanne Morton, Decatur, Texas
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me. Jeremiah 17:7 The NET BIBLE
Lora
Mooresburg
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 1 Thessalonians 3:12 NIV
Maria – Macomb, MI
Isaiah 54:5 NIV
For your Maker is your husband– the LORD Almighty is his name– the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.
Kate DeWys, Zeeland, Michigan
“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.”
Psalm 62 vs. 5 TNIV
Kimberly – Carlsbad, CA
“The Lord is my Light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1 NIV
“Be merciful to those who doubt.” Jude 1:22
Mildred, Montserrat.
May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts. Psalms 119:78 (NIV)
Kathy, Syracuse, NY
Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)
“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
“If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!” Matthew 5:15 (MSG)
Poorna Diaz
Arlington, VA
Kristi, Gardner, KS
The Lord God is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, And makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments. (Habakkuk 3:19 NASB)
Kelley, La Verne. Jeremiah 17:7 blessed is the man who trusts in The Lord, whose trust is The Lord. ESV
Desiree in Carlsbad, CA
Colossians 3:22b-24 (MSG)
“Do your best.
Work from the heart for your real Master, for God,
confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance.
Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ.”
Lauren Morton, Decatur, TX – But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. – Jeremiah 17:7 NIV84
Marie-Franklin, TN
Do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
Cindy, Madrid, Spain
“My blessing is on those who trust in me, who put their confidence in me.”
Jeremiah 17:7 NET Bible
Deborah, Nashville TN
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
Paula, Houston, Tx
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3 NIV)
Stephanie, Austin, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20 NIV
Donna
Odessa, Florida
Jeremiah 17:7
“My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me. “
Susan, Statesville – Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. Matt. 28-30 (The Message)
Cheryl in Fairhope – “My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.” Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Cheryl in Fairhope, AL – “My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.” Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Susan, Bradenton, FL
My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me. Jer. 17:7 NET
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7 NKJV)