Right & Wrong Trust (9/13/10)

Shalom,




Please begin by reading Jer 17:5-10.



A favorite academic type of question used in essay tests is the "compare and contrast." The student's task is to discuss the differences and similarities between two different ideas or situations or characters. Here in Jeremiah we find two very different types of people. They're shown in deep contrast to one another based on what they ultimately place their trust in.

Every human being has to ultimately and finally put their reliance and trust in someone or something. It might be their Creator or it might be a person or it might be a philosophy or it may even be themselves. We're constantly placing our trust in other people: consider doctors, teachers, pilots, repairmen, politicians, and even pastors. As much as we desire to be fully self-reliant, we all turn to the "experts" when we run into something we don't understand.

But we're really looking at something much deeper than life and our daily situations. We're looking at the big picture, our thoughts and ideas about eternity and life after death. When your world is falling apart, when confronted with death, when tragedy strikes, what gives you hope for the future? What is the thing you place deep hope and reliance in that you expect to hold firm when everything else fails? There are only two real choices: Yahweh or a human.



The primary concept in our culture today is to look towards the self as being the ultimate source of trust. Self-help groups and books abound, all of them trying to convince us that we have the answers we need somewhere deep inside. The idea being that the ultimate source of truth is buried deep within us, we just have to dig it up. But don't we humans have a basic distrust of other people, particularly the people in authority or leadership, especially if they're of the "wrong" political party? This is mostly a reaction to the failure of past leaders, who promised much but delivered little or who have betrayed the trust placed in them.

The human race has tried many times to be strong and resolute in doing what's right, but it always fails without Yahweh's help. We're feeble and sinful and unable to deliver true justice and righteousness like our Creator. The Hebrew phrasing speaks of the "arm of the flesh." It means just flesh, no bone. The human strength referred to offers no true support. People may not mean to fail, but deep down they don't have the ability to keep themselves from ultimate failure. Some have begun with good motives and still failed miserably. Some have believed they were strong enough and eventually learned otherwise.

The person who trusts in human strength or ability is compared to a desert plant, in other words - a stunted shrub. These plants have no fruit. They're small, and always less than fully grown. All their effort must be put into getting every bit of moisture required to stay alive. They live in salty, barren places. They're isolated and even if they grew strong and beautiful, nobody would see or enjoy them.

Like many humans, they rely on their own resources. There's nobody to tend them, to provide water or fertilizer. Many people today have bought into the idea that we can all be fully self-sufficient, not realizing that Yahweh created us to live in community helping and blessing one another. There aren't many insects around to pollinate desert plants. There are few birds or animals around to move their seeds about. Our heavenly Father didn't design us to be solitary people, fellowship is a vital aspect of our mental and spiritual health. And these plants must adapt to being on their own, much like many who isolate themselves in our society.

Recently England had a severe summer drought. The use of hoses to water gardens was prohibited and consequently many gardens dried up and failed. The next year "drought-proof" plants were all the rage. Many people bought desert plants which require much less watering. Guess what, the next summer was extremely wet. These desert plants proved to be the wrong answer. They don't have deep root systems and thus died from over-watering. Doesn't that provide us with a good picture of trusting in humans?

If we trust in human strength or ability, we'll end up with no fruit in our gardens either. Trusting in humans is putting all our energy into survival, leaving nothing for bearing fruit. We'll then have nothing of value to offer to others, and we also can't receive from them either. Our interactions with other people will be dry and empty instead of encouraging and uplifting. If we insist on standing alone and trusting in our own abilities, we'll miss out on many blessings because we'll actually be refusing to give and receive.

By adapting to providing for oursevles and living off our own resources, we'll also miss out on the blessings of our Creator. If we're insistent on providing for ourselves, we can't receive from the Lord of Glory. Some of these people are sitting in churches and completely missing out on the movements of the Holy Spirit. They're sitting in our midst, in the place where Yahweh's living water flows, but they don't receive his blessings. They sit there consumed with their personal situation and miss the touch of their heavenly Father.



The better way to live is to trust in our Creator. Yahweh is Truth, totally unable to fail or let anyone down. He keeps all his promises and delivers blessings without fail. The God of the Bible doesn't have human qualities like the gods of Greek and Roman mythology. He is pure and righteous, completely working for our good.

The person who puts their trust in Yahweh is described as a strong, fruitful tree planted by a riverbank. This tree was planted in this place deliberately. It was carefully placed where it would be able to abound and flourish. Even in times of drought, any tree in this position would receive life-sustaining water. A tree like this doesn't have to rely on itself, it's nourished without fail because of its placement.

The big contrast here is that the desert tree is described as cursed, while the tree along the riverbank is described as blessed. Yahweh provides an endless source of blessing and strength if we trust in him. No matter what the circumstances of life bring our way, he is our source. If we remain close to the source of our nourishment, we can develop deep spiritual roots which will help us receive even more blessing and strength from our Lord. Even in this world where trouble and sorrow are regular visitors, Yahweh can fill us with hope and peace when we stay near to him.

People like this aren't growing and being blessed only for their own benefit. A tall and strong tree can shelter other people from the fierce heat of the sun. A fruitful tree is a source of food, vitamins, and good nourishment. When we grow like that spiritually, people who are struggling can come to us and find relief. True followers of Yahweh know that what we recieve must be passed along to others for us to continue to blessed. If we hoard what our Lord gives us we will begin to shrivel and wither even in the midst of Yahweh's abundance.

We must remember the words of Jesus in Luke 6:38. "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured to you." We'll get back in relation to what we give. If we hoard, we get no return on Yahweh's blessings. If we're generous in giving, we'll get a generous return on our investment. And these are spiritual blessings so don't try to measure your return with standards from our material world.

If we remain close to our Lord we're promised that we won't "be bothered by the heat." Times of drought will come our way, but they won't damage us if we remain intimately connected to Yahweh. We may feel the effects of our fallen world in our flesh, but our spirits will always remain strong and fresh if we continue to partake of the living water. There's no promise that someone else's free will choices can't end up hurting us physically or materially. But we know they can't have any effect on our eternity because that's totally in Yahweh's hands.



The conclusion of this passage tells us our hearts are "decietful and desperately wicked." Decitful literally means rough and bumpy. Using deceit to get an advantage for ourselves doesn't provide us with a smooth path, it roughs up the road, making for an uncomfortable trip to eternity. Desperately wicked means beyond cure. Israel and Judah had to go into exile because of what Yahweh recorded in 2 Chron 36:16. "They mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of Yahweh was aroused against his people and there was no remedy." We're in deep trouble because of this bad heart condition, but our heavenly Father says there's hope.

Only the God of Truth can rightly judge our hearts. And because he's completely the Truth, he'll be absolutely fair in his judgments. He knows if we've planted ourselves in the desert by our own willfulness, or if we've been deceived and hurt and left to fend for ourselves. When it says we'll receive according to what our deeds "deserve," deserve is referring to crops. What have we planted, good or bad crops? Have we allowed Yahweh to choose the place where he'll plant us? Have we trusted him to pick the perfect spot to set our roots down? Put your trust in the right place. Allow your Creator to guide you to a bountiful place.



Blessings & Peace, Mike