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
Dawn, Raleigh, NC Psalm 121:2 “My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!” NLT
Patty, Marysville, OH
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7 NIV)
“Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me but I will not be mastered by anything.” — 1 Corinthians 6:12, NIV
Maddie from Flagstaff, Arizona
Peggy, Corpus Christi, TX
I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Psalm 16:8 (ESV)
Jo Ann, Philadelphia, “Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken!’” Jer. 39:18(NLT)
Betty, Wendell, NC
Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.
(Perfect for my life today!)
Kerry, Nederland, TX
So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of His call. May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.
2 Thessalonians 1:11, NLT
Lori, Midlothian, VA
My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me. Jeremiah 17:7 NET
Joan, Carter Lake IA
My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me. (Jeremiah 17:7 NET)
Susan from Greensburg
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Psalm 32:8 NIV
Patti, Phoenix AZ “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 19:11 ESV
Elaine, Jefferson, GA
For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 AMP)
Patty, Shelton, Washington
A man’s wisdom gives him patience;
it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
Proverbs 19:11, NIV
” My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.”
Jeremiah 17:7 | NET
“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, taht I may fear your name.” Ps. 86:11 NIV
Melanie of Greenbrier, TN
Psalm 119:114 (MSG)
You’re my place of quiet retreat;
I wait for your Word to renew me.
Kimberly, Fresno, CA
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer”
Psalm 19:14 (NIV)
Bethany, Evart, Michigan. Now to Him who is able
To do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask
or think, according to the power that works in us, Ephesians 3:20 NKJV
Ganise, Ottawa, CAN. ‘My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.’ Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
Amy, Washington DC, “Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.” 1 Chronicles 16:24
Sorry, forgot it is NLT.
Jo Anne Chicago
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.
Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. I Corinthians 4:20 NIV
Lynda from Ocala, FL: The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. Psalm 103:19 NIV
Danielle from Cedar Park, TX
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.
John 16:33 NIV
Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. Romans 12:11 NLT
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV)
Lonnie G, Omaha, NE:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5 NLT)
Peggy, Queen Creek, “Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you.” Prov. 4:24 NASB
“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you, nor foresake you.” Joshua 1:5 NIV
Melissa, Katy, Texas, Romans 15:13 NIV
May the God of Hope fill you with joy & peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
The 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.
By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. (Proverbs 24:3, 4 NIV)
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. Romans 10:19 ESV
Phyllis, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Psalm 59:16 ESV
But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
Thank you for the blog post, its exactly how I feel this summer.
Leanne
Mississippi
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me.
Jeremiah 17:7
NET Bible
Janet, Holmes Beach, FL
(Jesus said,)
“You did not choose me,
but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit –
fruit that will last.
Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
John 15:16 NIV
Chris M, Seattle, WA
Romans 11:29 NIV
for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.
Fareen
Las Vegas, NV
“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
James 4:7-10 NASB
Rebecca Alburn
Salem, OR
“For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.”
Psalm 95:3-4 NIV
“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” l Peter 4:10 NIV
Kay Martin
Tupelo, MS
My blessing is on those people who trust in Me, who put their confidence in Me. (Jeremiah 17:7 The NET Bible)
Colleen, Glen Ellyn, IL
So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
Matthew 7:17 ESV
T. Nutt, Mansfield,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
Kelly
Starr,SC
19 Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence.
2 Chronicles 6:19 NIV
Charlotte Good
Mesquite, Texas
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matt 6-21 NIV
GJ
Hawkinsville, GA
Psalm 103:15 (NKJV)
As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
Emily S.~ Weatherford, TX ;”Wise words are like deep waters; wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.” ~ Proverbs 18:4 NLT
Gretchen, Gahanna, Ohio–But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children-with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
Psalm 103:17-18 NIV
Janet from Odessa, TX
Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.
Ephesians 5:1-2 HCSB
Ali C., Pleasanton, CA-You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)