MAY '24

 

"...blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him." - Jeremiah 17:7

For my Aaron,

You've been my bestie since birth & I am so grateful for you.  Your life reflects this verse so well.  You have trusted in the Lord and kept your confidence in Him.  Your faith encourages and inspires me every single day.  I love you, big brother.

 

I painted this picture with the lake in mind.  The lake during that in between part of spring and summer.  Aaron and I have been to the occasional lake house or houseboat together, so his verse felt appropriate for this picture.  When he sent me the verse I didn't bother to look at the context.   But now as I read it in context, I'm blown away.  

Verse 8 reads "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."

I knew this picture was going to have trees, but I had no idea how the verse and picture would match together.  That is all God.  Mind blown.

When you read the verses together, it reads this way:

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him [God].  He [the man] 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 it will not be anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."

Before you read any of my own thoughts, ask the Holy Spirit what He wants you to notice in this verse.

Now, let's look at two of these words/phrases from verse 7 in their original Hebrew definitions.

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him."  

"trusts"

     

"whose confidence"

              

Which of these definitions stand out to you?  What are you placing your trust in?  Where is your confidence?  Whom do you confide in?

Just yesterday I was sitting before the Lord fighting back hot tears because He had hurt my feelings.  He let my heart break over a situation I thought He was going to resolve.  He didn't intervene the way I wanted Him to or the way I thought He should- and now I'm faced with the choice of trusting Him again.  I'm learning through that situation that because He loves us so deeply, He is willing to be misunderstood.  He is willing to let us get our feelings hurt.  

I keep picturing myself like a child who wants to eat the ice cream cone.  Everyone else gets to eat the ice cream cone, so why would my parents deny me what others are allowed to have?  Maybe its because they know I'm allergic to dairy, maybe its because they have popsicles at home (I always loved popsicles), or maybe its something much worse- like they know to keep me safe we stay away from the creepy ice cream truck.  

That's a silly example to point out a very hard truth that I'm struggling with today.  Parents know better than their children and in a similar fashion, God knows better than us.  So I ask you again, what are you placing your trust in?  Where is your confidence?

If you feel like God let your trust fall to the ground, maybe it's time to get really honest with Him about it.  Maybe you let Him know you're struggling.  As my counselor would say, "be honest enough with Jesus to grab Him by the beard."  That was a shocking image the first time I heard it.  Yet, I soon realized his point- Jesus isn't going anywhere.  Maybe like the father in Mark 9 you need to spend some time crying out, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"   If you're struggling to trust Him today, tell Him.  

He can take it.

“Jeremiah 17 :: New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB95).” Blue Letter Bible, www.blueletterbible.org/nasb95/jer/17/1/t_conc_762007. Accessed 1 May 2024.

*Afterthought:

There is so much more that can be expanded upon within these verses.  I keep reading this devotional and second guessing my focus of trust - instead of all the beautiful word pictures used in verse 8.  But trusting God is where I keep landing.  Perhaps I just need to preach it to myself.  That truth that whispers: He's safe to fall back on.  The truth that says: it's okay to cry out to God when you feel like all the walls have fallen around you.  So, I'm going to leave devotion as is- but I beg you: if the beauty of the words in verse 8 grab your heart's attention, follow them.  The Spirit knows where He's going.