Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:5-10

Following on from our last posting, today’s text sets out the choice each of us must make in this journey of faith; and don’t look too far for that man you are trusting! It is you. When you think you can do it in your strength, you are destined to fail. So where will your trust be in these times? Elijah contending with the messengers of Ahaziah on their way to Ekron in the day of his trouble (2 Kings 1:1-16), asked the confused king and the confused messengers a question, “Is it that there is no God in Israel…” You will not make much of this except you understand what the name Ahaziah meant. It meant “held by or sustained by Jehovah.” It was either he didn’t understand or took lightly his name, or he simply did not believe in Jehovah to hold him. So, if you don’t know the God you have come to believe you have robbed yourself of the wisdom that comes from above, the only filter that can deliver you in these times.

If your wisdom is from above, then you understand that the only place of protection is in Psalms 91:1-8, a full and complete package against all the prevailing events from noisome pestilence to kidnaps, banditry et.al. The only requirement is stated in verse 2c (my God; in him will I trust) and verse 4b (under his wings shalt thou trust) and expanded upon in Psalms 37:3, Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

To trust in yourself or any man at all, 1 Samuel 2:9, noting the warning from the Lord in Jeremiah 17:9, is to risk this outcome taking hold upon you.

It is time to make God your first port of call, as Jehoshaphat did (2 Chronicles 20) and as Hezekiah did (2 Kings 19 & 20). He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to His people. Shalom.

Photo by Darius Bashar on Unsplash