The Weekly Word - A Devotion for the Week of October 30
In Jeremiah 17, God talks about trusting in Him, and not in man. He compares those who trust in man to a shrub in the desert and says, “He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.” We won’t get very far in life trusting in people for our spiritual needs. He then says that someone who trusts in the Lord “is like a tree planted by water,” and “is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Becoming a Christian and trusting in the Lord doesn’t mean all your problems will dissolve. In verse 8 -- when He is talking about the tree planted next to the water -- He says the tree “Does not fear when heat comes.” Unfortunately, we live in a world where bad things are bound to happen, but when we have trust in the Lord, we can plan for catastrophe and know that He will take care of us.
When we trust in God and have a fixed heart for Him, we see it in our actions. Our behavior comes from our hearts; so, when we fill our hearts and minds with Jesus, we’ll be driven to be kind, gracious, and forgiving. We would much rather be a thriving tree by the water than a shrub all by itself and dying of thirst.
The Lord knows our hearts inside and out and loves us unconditionally. Trust in Him and His promises to gain eternal life with Him.