Who am I Trusting?

Sunday we had the wonderful privilege of being taught by Pastor Bill White who had been the speaker at our men’s retreat. During Sunday school he talked about how when we try to do things in our flesh, rather than trusting God, we end up being an obstacle to the very thing we want to happen. His illustrations were personal, profound, and relevant to myself and (I imagine) all who were able to be there. Since Sunday, I have been soaking in the passage of Scripture that was Pastor White’s main text, Jeremiah 17: 5-8. Perhaps later, when my computer is back from the shop, I’ll be able to write a longer post on this theme. For now, here is the incredibly rich text which contrasts the person who trusts in “the arm of flesh” and the one who trusts in the Lord.


Jeremiah 17: 5-8

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord. 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.” (ESV)