By Walinasé-Miriam
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:8
One thing you should remember for the rest of your day (and might I add the rest of your life) is that God is good all the time, and people are good sometimes. This verse is such a powerful passage, it warns us of what happens when we put our trust in man and not God. As an example, in most cases people believe that it is the government’s job to look after them, however throughout history there are countless examples of where governments and people in authority – who are meant to help – have been the source of our problems. In the same way, your parents, friends, teachers, spouse etc. can let you down. It’s only the God who never changes who will always have your back. That is why, people who were previously so deep in love can get to a point of literally wanting to kill each other. People can change but God will always be consistent.
In verse 8, the passage compares a person who trusts in the lord to a tree that is planted by the streams of water which is always green and does not fear when drought comes. I am a plant person, but I am not very good at looking after my plants. In comparison to the plants described in verse 8, my plants are missing so much love and nutrition that would come by being planted by the streams of water – instead they are uprooted and planted outside of their natural habitat. God is our natural habitat.
From this scripture we see that above all else, putting your trust in God is a form of protection. We see a plant that is not afraid of the water, but it is always green. Applied to our life, it shows that the love of God will cover us when life gets hard and is our protection. I know in Christian circles we often pray for the spirit of discernment but a cure to not being let down or dragged by people is not the spirit of discernment per se but it is to not be so naïve and easily trusting of man. Instead have God as your ultimate as this scripture says the heart of man is deceitful and it is only God who understands our hearts so abide in Him, not people.
Let’s pray, our heavenly Father help us to trust in you and not in man. Help us to rely in you always as you care about us. Lord we worship and we exalt your holy name. in the name of Jesus, we pray amen.
