This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD . . . But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.”
Jeremiah 17:5,7
Honestly, I have a hard time expounding on those verses. The curse and the blessing are both followed with promises. Those who put trust in human ability “are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future” (v. 6). Those who trust in the LORD “are like trees planted long a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green and they never stop producing fruit” (v. 8).
I think it’s obvious which of these we would all hope to be. There is a clear metaphor going on here. Those who hope in the LORD find comfort and strength in times of trouble, and God never stops working in their lives even when things are tough.
Again, I have a hard time adding anything to this. I am sure that I could, but I don’t want to. I only recommend that you take Jeremiah 17:5-8 to heart. For good measure, I’d throw in verses 9-10 as well:
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine all secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”
This reminds me of something that I read from A.W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God yesterday:
The man of God set his heart to exalt God above all; God accepted his intention as fact and acted accordingly. Not perfection, but holy intention made the difference.
Here, Tozer is talking about the characters of the Old Testament. He mentions how none of them were perfect, i.e. David, but all of them sought God.
So, seek God. Aspire to be closer to Him, to know Him, and to reach a deeper level of intimacy with Him. Go after Him just as He has gone, goes, and will go after you.
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