Trust in the Lord

Joshua left for the states on April 30th. The time apart has been terribly difficult for the both of us. We both find comfort in the scriptures. While Joshua has been away, the following scripture has become my daily comfort. Jeremiah 17:5-11 states:

Jeremiah 17:5-6
Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.

This verse is very real to me. We live in the desert. Parched, dry shrubs are the landscape, dotted with luscious cactus. The cactuses are living because they are plump with water. But the shrubs are so dry, that when the rainy season comes, they are unable to soak up the life-giving water; the roots are too dry. The life comes, and they don’t even know it. When our trust is in the provision of man, we too can become so dry in our spiritual walk with the Lord that we do not see when he offers us blessings and life. He gives us scriptures to encourage us, people come our way to lift us up, but we indulge ourselves in loneliness, self-pity, and separation. When the blessings come, we cannot see them because we are blinded. But the text continues, with hope:

Jeremiah 17:7-8
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. 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 it’s leaves will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.

We have shrubs, but we also have beautiful fields, which the Mexicans have learned to cultivate from barren land. These fields are irrigated with canals, which stretch for miles. When the water flows, a tree planted by those waters will be beautiful in the day of cool rain, or in the scorching heat of summer. The heat does not affect it, because the leaves and branches are not the life-giving part of the tree. The roots, soaking up cool water and nutrients, supply life to the tree. The exact same tree can be in the desert, without water; yet because its roots are not firmly planted in the rich soil of the canals, it withers and dies.

There are times when trees here appear living, but when you touch the leaves, they fall away like dust. When driving on Mexican highways, it’s common to see trees that appear green and alive … but these are just illusions. The trees are dead. How, then, can you know which is “shrub” and which is “tree”? The answer is in the roots. If the roots are above the ground, gasping for water, then it is a dead shrub. But if the roots are deep in the earth, it is alive – even if it is experiencing a dry spell, it is not dead. People are like this, also. Where our roots are planted determines our spiritual life. But spiritual roots can’t be seen. So, then, how can we know who is a shrub and who is a tree? It is not for us to know. Only God has the right, the privilege, and the honor to know the secret thoughts and ways of man. The text ends with this portion of scripture:

Jeremiah 17:9-10
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
How do we test ourselves? We must examine our fruit. Refer to Galatians 5:19-23. Is your fruit of the world, or of the Spirit? God will give men over to fruits of wickedness, because he is a just God, and impartial in his judgment, but fruits of wickedness seed evil and death in the day of harvest. However, God will also give men the Holy Spirit, which demolishes the seeds of wickedness and plants His own spiritual fruits, which when harvested, produce life and that wonderfully delicious fruit of the Holy Spirit, the first of which is love.