Trust in the Lord – Jeremiah 17:5-8

A text – Jeremiah 17:5-8

⁵ Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength,
    whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
⁶ They shall be like a shrub in the desert and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

⁷ Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
⁸ They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.

A reflection:

Jeremiah is a very long book of the Old Testament. The writer was addressing people being sent into exile in Babylon. They wanted to flourish in their own land, but that was not to be.

I am particularly drawn to verses 7-8, comparing those who trust in the Lord to a tree planted by water. It makes me think of folks who, through greed and human desires for acquiring land and oil and other resources, neglect the wild places and turn them into struggling ecosystems. It happens now in global warming, but perhaps it has always happened.  In contrast, people who trust in the Creator Lord and look after the earth with the Lord as their guide maybe wouldn’t let that happen. They would care for the trees, they would make sure there is water to help the roots grow strong. With strength like that, the tree can stand a few dry seasons and still bear fruit.

Perhaps I am too idealistic here, but the bottom line in this section of Jeremiah is trust in the Lord. Do not trust in human wisdom or human desires. The Lord knows what is best. So, blessed are the people (and trees) who trust in the Lord.

This passage is one more where we are reminded to look to God every day, take things human beings say with a grain of salt, and do what the Lord wants us to do. Our best teacher is Jesus, who unfailingly loved people, especially the neglected people, and gave them whatever he could, especially hope. In this day of bombardment by a thousand opinions from all kinds of people, we must seek the Lord first and the Lord’s advice to us, the Holy Spirit speaking to our conscience, Jesus’s life and work. We must choose the one thing we know in our hearts is right to believe.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for being present with us day by day. Help us to pay attention to what you tell us. Help us not to only rely on what we hear and read, but to rely on what we know from you and from the life of your son. Help us to live and love like Jesus.  Amen.