If you could be a parched shrub or a luscious tree, which would you choose?
In Jeremiah 17.5-8 God gives two images.
First, He gives the parched shrub:
Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
To trust in man is to turn away from the Lord. This is he who trusts in man instead of trusting in God. When the going gets tough, do you first call your bank, a powerful friend, your psychologist, your psychic?
The one who trusts in man, even though he may surround himself with the most powerful and influential of friends, eventually finds himself dry, parched, devoid of meaningful life. Many lie to themselves, saying, “I have a fulfilled life. I feel happy with what I have accomplished and what I have done.” They don’t think into the future. They feel momentary accolades over recent accomplishments, the euphoric rush of the praise of men. But, as Solomon asked, what will become of these accomplishments, these things we’ve built? After us come those who don’t care about what we have done. They will destroy our work, let it fall into disrepair, or slap their own name on it. We will be forgotten, we who trust in the flesh.
Second, the luscious tree stands in opposition to the dry shrub:
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Here is one with strength, majesty, usefulness. The tree which outlasts the hurricane is the one with deep roots, and the one which outlasts the drought is the one beside deep water. This is he who trusts in the Lord.
When you trust in the Lord, you are planted in God’s wisdom. You tap into His strength and do not depend on your own. You live your life in holiness, balance, and contentment. Your hope is not in the works of your hands but in the works of the Lord. You build things, you write books, you plant gardens–and you know your work is not in vain in the Lord (1 Cor. 15.58). Sure, others may forget everything you’ve done in the next generation–but God has seen and He knows, and you did it for Him, anyway.
So–do you want to be a desert shrub or a river tree? 🙂