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
Connie from Plano, TX says: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:5-6 NIV
Janell~ Frisco, TX God’s kingdom isn’t just a lot of words. It is power. 1 Corin 4:20 CEV
Kay, Sheridan
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.
Jeremiah 17:7 NET
Valerie, Louisville KY
You will only look on with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked
Ps 91:8 NASB
Jeannie – Charlotte, NC
But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
1 Peter 3:4 (ESV)
Keely from Hermann, MO: 1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV, Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
Jacci, from Denver
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:10 NIV
Marsha Fort Smith
See, upon the palms of my hands I have written your name; your walls are ever before me.
Isaiah 49:6 NAB
Marie Franse, Albuquerque, nm: he is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 NIV
Jessica, Sioux Falls
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me. Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Jennifer Hand from Liberty, NC
Examine me, O God, and know my mind.
Test me, and know my thoughts.
See whether I am on an evil path.
Then lead me on the everlasting path.
Psalm 139:23-24
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. NIV Ephesians 4:2
Jennifer from Liberty, NC
If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.
Eclesiastes 11:4 NLT
Liz, Bloomfield: “The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work” (Proverbs 12:24, MSG).
Pammie, Southern California. “So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.” Colossians 3:1, 2 MSG
Anita; Purcellville, VA
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
1 Cor. 4:20 NIV84
Lindsey, Dubach, LA-My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me. Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Kristy in Tallahassee, FL
“Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14 NIV
Phyllis Amarillo, TX
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come near you.
Psalm 32:8-9 NIV
Sacramento, CA
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
Jeremiah 17:7 NIV
Norma
Leander, TX
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
James 1:2 ESV
Julie, Newton, IA
“Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.” Philippians 2:16 NLT
Leigh, Woodway, TX
My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me.
Jeremiah 17:7 (NET)
Barb from Wetumpka, AL
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
Psalm 23:1
NLT
Karen, Redmond. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26 NIV
mitzi, Brandon,MS
Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, You preserve both man and beast.
Psalm 36:5-6 NIV
Ashlee, Roswell, GA – “As soon as I pray you answer me; You encourage me by giving me strength.” Psalm 138:3, NLT
Ann, Centerville.
II Peter 1:7 And to godliness, mutual affection and to mutual affection, love. NIV
Romans 8:17, NLT
And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.
Libby
Dallas, TX
Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
Luke 24:45
NIV
Kelly Snodgrass
Rogersville, TN
Jeremiah 17.7 NET
My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me.
Keaton Lovell, McCurtain OK
And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. (Job 1:21 KJV)
Careese
Amarillo, TX
Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other.
Romans 12:10 NLT
Kesley, Rome GA.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8 The NET Bible
Cindy – Houston
The Lord is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation.
Psalm 118:14 NIV
Karen C., Carmel, IN
Psalm 37:25-26 NIV – I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.
Janae – Riverside, PA Psalm 143:6 (NIV) “I spread out my hands to You. My soul thirsts for You like a parched land.”
Carol
Albuquerque NM
Proverbs 27:9
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice
NIV
Jeremiah 17:5 – NET
I will put a curse on people who trust in mere human beings, who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength and who have turned their heart away from the Lord”
Wanda
North Canton, Ohio
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me. Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Vicki, Surprise AZ
The one true God acts in a faithful manner;
the Lord’s promise is reliable;
he is a shield to all who take shelter in him.
Psalm 18:30 NET
Jennifer
Lexington, Kentucky
Proverbs 31:24 (CEB)
“She makes garments and sells them; she supplies sashes to traders.”
Gena Gilbert, Rowlett, Texas
“Lord , you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.” Psalm 16:5 NIV
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”
Romans 1:16a (NIV’84)
Pat,Hot Springs, AR
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Phillipians 4:13 KJV
Carla, LaFayette, Al.
Teach me to do your will for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Psalm 143:10 NLT
Carole-Cleveland, TN “My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me” Jer 17:7
Roseanne, Tacoma Wa
You have also given me a sheild of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
You have enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.
Psalm 18:35-36 NIV
Jennifer, Tomball, TX “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26
Shannon, Tyler, Tx “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in
him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13 NIV