TRUSTING in GOD guarantees BLESSING and FRUITFULNESS!
August 12 Bible Reading: Jeremiah Chapters 16-18
TRUSTING in GOD guarantees BLESSING and FRUITFULNESS!
"Blessed
is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be
like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river,
and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be
anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit."
(Jer. 17:7-8)
The people of Judah were totally entrenched in idolatry during
the time of prophet Jeremiah. It was as if their sins were etched on their
hearts with an “iron tool” (v. 1),
and they had been turning to false gods and foreign alliances for protection
from the enemy. Due to the unbridled sins of the people of Judah, God said He
would hand over Jerusalem and its wealth as plunder to the invaders in due time.
In this context of the people of Judah failing to trust and
depend on God for help, Jeremiah contrasts
the cursedness of people who would
depend on humans, on their own abilities and move away from God (vv. 5-6) with
the blessedness of people who would trust in God alone and put their hope and
confidence in God alone. While the former would be like “a shrub in the desert” occupying the parched places in the
wilderness and the salt land where no one lives, the latter would be like a
fruitful tree planted by the waters with roots spread into the river (vv. 7-8).
With the real life examples, Jeremiah breathed back the
thoughts of Psalm 1 as he contrasted the way of the wicked with the way of the
righteous. To trust in human brings a curse; but to trust in the Lord brings
blessing. True blessing and fruitfulness is
found in trusting and finding hope in God!
The term “blessed” is
used often in the Psalms and Deuteronomy to describe the benefits that accrue to one who is devoted to the Lord and His Word.
God repays trust because He is by nature trustworthy (Isaiah 7:9). The close
similarity between verses 7-8 and Psalms 1:1–3 suggests that trust in God entails delighting in,
meditating on and obeying the law of God. One who trusts in God will not be
free from trials and adversity, but that God will bring fruit and blessing in
and through those difficulties (Isaiah 14:1–9; 15:19–21; 44:4). Faith and trust
in God makes us like a deeply rooted tree that survives the drought and is
always fruitful.
How can we place our
trust in God in our everyday living? This will happen when we delight
ourselves in reading, meditating and comprehending the word of God everyday (Psalms 1:3). When we sincerely
do that, our faith in God strengthens (see Romans 10:17) and we truly start believing
that God can help us on all occasions
and at all times. God will then give
us all the desires of our heart (see Psalms 37:3-4), and He will eventually
direct our path in our life journey (see Proverbs 3:5-6).
Today, let us be clear that trusting in God guarantees blessing and fruitfulness, and it is always better to trust in God than
in humans and people in power and authority!
