Trust in Man
Jeremiah 17:5-6 ESV
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.
As human beings, we are born
with sin natures. We are without God, and without hope. Our flesh is full of
wickedness. It is completely untrustworthy. Our flesh is bound to fail us; to
fail others. So, why do we ever put our hope and trust in the flesh of human
beings? Such trust is futile.
And yet, many people put a
whole lot of trust in the flesh of man, including many Christians do. They
trust in preachers, teachers, public figures, politicians, news media and in
themselves. But, their trust is misplaced, for they are trusting in what can
never satisfy the deep longings of their souls. They are trusting, too, in what
will lie to them, and not tell them the truth.
This is a serious issue
within the church today, for so many Christians are trusting in flesh, and not
wholly in God, if in God much at all. So much of today’s church has gone the
way of the world and the world of big business, which is all based in flesh,
and is not of the Spirit of God. Yet, if what they have come to believe is
church makes them feel good, then they think it is good. But, one does not
necessarily equate the other.
So many professing Christians
are living not much different from the world. They are walking according to the
flesh, and not according to the Spirit. They are still living to please the
flesh, because even the church, largely, is promoting self-pleasure and
incessant entertainment. Even much of the church is more concerned about
satisfying fleshly appetites than it is concerned about pleasing God and doing
what he says.
But, the flesh cannot be
trusted. When we put our trust in the flesh, in place of putting our trust in
the Lord, we are turning against God. We are telling God that he is not enough,
or that he can’t handle our circumstances, or that we are choosing to disregard
his commands, and to go our own way, instead. And, so we are shooting ourselves
in our own feet, as the saying goes. We will reap what we sow. What goes around
comes around. And, it will come back to us and bite us. It will not turn out
well for us in the end.
Trust in God
Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust
is 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.”
God is the only one fully
trustworthy. He is the only one deserving of our complete trust and hope. And,
he is the only one who can satisfy the deep yearnings of our souls. He is the
only one who truly knows us, and knows what we need, because he is the one who
created us. And, he created us to worship him, to give him praise and honor,
and to follow him in obedience.
Since we were designed to
give glory, honor, praise and worship to God, when we live outside of that
design, we not only will not have the hope of eternal life with God in heaven,
but we will not live in the peace and joy of the Lord while we live here on
this earth. We will keep running into brick walls, figuratively speaking, and
will spin our wheels but not go anywhere.
Because we are born with sin
natures, separate from God, due to the sin of the first man, God’s only
begotten Son Jesus Christ came to earth, took on human flesh, and was crucified
on a cross for our sins. In his death he put our sins to death, and in his
resurrection, he rose victorious over sin, hell, Satan and death on our behalf.
By faith in Jesus Christ, a
faith that is of God, and is a gift of God to us, in which he persuades us to
put our trust in him and to follow him in obedience, we are made right with
God. Our fellowship with God is restored. Jesus Christ is now our Lord, and we
are his servants. The Holy Spirit of God then comes to live within us, to
empower us to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to God. So, we now walk
according to the Spirit, and no longer according to the flesh.
Now we have purpose and
direction and meaning to life. We now have the peace of God and the assurance
of his presence always with us. He is the one who now counsels and guides us in
the way that we should go. And, following him in obedience and in surrender to
his will brings us into perfect harmony with our creator.
Even if all around us is
falling apart, we can be at peace and at rest in knowing that we are in the
center of God’s will, and that he is the one who will carry us through every
difficult circumstance which comes our way.
The result of this trust in
God is that we will worship, praise, adore and honor him with our lives. We
will desire him above all else, and we will want to sing his praises, to serve
him with our lives, and to demonstrate our love for him by walking in obedience
to his Word.
No Less
An Original Work / March 19, 2012
I can do no less than praise You,
Lord, for all You’ve done for me.
You died for my sins to save me,
So I would be set free.
I adore You! Lord, I praise You!
Jesus, Savior, King of kings!
You provided my redemption.
Your grace has pardoned me.
I can do no less than serve You.
Lord, Your witness I would be,
Telling others of Your love,
And why You died on that tree.
Tell of how You gave of Your life,
So from sin we’d be set free,
So we could worship You forever,
And live eternally.
I can do no less than love You,
Lord, for You have first loved me.
You gave of Your life so willing,
Because You cared for me.
Turn from my sin! Obey freely!
Live for You each passing day.
Read Your word, and follow Your lead,
Lord, as I humbly pray.
Tuesday, March 20, 2018, 6:03
p.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for this teaching from Your Word. May we serve you
only and always.
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