But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him
(Jeremiah 17:7).
Have you ever considered at what point a test becomes so difficult that you
decide you can no longer trust in God and you must take over to solve the
problem? The prophet Jeremiah describes a situation in which the temptation
to solve a financial problem can become so great that we trust in man’s way
to solve it.
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who
depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it
comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land
where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose
confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends
out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves
are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to
bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:5- 8).
Jeremiah draws a sharp comparison between the man who trusts in his own
effort to solve his problem and the man who trusts in God when he cannot see
the outcome. The man who trusts in God bears fruit despite the circumstances
in his life. He does not shrivel when the heat comes, in fact, his roots go
deeper into the grace of God. He continues to bear fruit in spite of his
circumstances.
Recently a friend from South Africa explained to me that whenever a plant
lives in an arid climate, the roots drive deeper and deeper into the soil to
get the water that they need. This forces the plant to develop a root system
that is far beyond the normal plant because it is forced to go deeper to
gain the water it needs. Sometimes God forces us to go deeper into the grace
of His love in order to build a greater foundation in our own lives. These
lean times are designed to accomplish this in us. If you find yourself in
this condition, ask the Lord who provides the water for our soul for the
grace that you need today to continue to bear fruit in the desert.