WHY TRUST IN THE LORD?

By Steven Garofalo (March 21, 2023)   (Copyright 2023)

• The Lord promises that the one who trusts in Him will not be free from trials and adversity, but that God will bring fruit and blessing in and through those difficulties The prophet Jeremiah speaks to what a man or woman who places their trust in the Lord God of the Bible can expect in light of life’s trials, challenges and triumphs. And that is what we are going to look at today so lets jump right in.
• Jeremiah 17:7-8 says this: “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.”
• I want to pause to define our terms: The term “BLESSED” is used often in the PSALMS and DEUTERONOMY to describe the benefits that accrue to one who is devoted  to the Lord and His word. The words translated “TRUSTS” and “HOPE” are related in the Hebrew language. The words “PLANTED” carries the imagery here of a fruitful three and is derived directly from Psalm 1:3 which says, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers”. This verse teaches that the person who trusts in God will not be free from trials and adversity, but that God will bring fruit and blessing in and through those difficulties . Verses (14:1-9; 15:19-21) speak further to that.
• Jeremiah 17:7-8 sets the tone by TWICE using the word, “BLESSED”. Jeremiah states twice that the man of God is “BLESSED” in the very first opening sentence. Why is Jeremiah repetitive in the opening sentence? The answer is that God himself wants to be clear in making God’s central point in this passage, which is: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is in the LORD.” God repeats himself for the simple reason that we as impatient human beings often read over the Bible and don’t get the import key points that God is making. In this case, God says twice “BLESSED IS THE MAN”. This sets the tone that everything that God is about to say through Jeremiah is couched, anchored and based in this singular truth. In other words, all of the things the Lord is about say is TRUE for those who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is in the Lord, but not true for those who do not place their full trust in the Lord.
• Now that we have established that the man or woman who trusts in the Lord and whose trust in fully in the LORD is who this passage is speaking to, let’s look at what God is way.  God says that the man or woman whose trust is in the Lord “is like a tree planted by water, that sends its roots by the stream”. It’s important to pause here for just a moment to compare so tree that is not next to water verses a tree planted next to a clearly accessible water source. A tree planted next to water has access to water which like one of us who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is in the Lord has a regular supply of nourishment and refreshment. Plants growing near water are usually easily sustained and grow taller and wider than plants with very little access to an abundant water supply. Being planted next to water means life can thrive, as water is the ultimate source of life for a tree.
• Now that we have established the concept of being planted next to water for the tree, which represents you and I and anyone on planet earth who trusts in the Lord, lets look at what  we can expect from God through our trust in Him.
• Jeremiah then says that we are like such a tree: “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”.  Jeremiah is making a number of points here.
• First, such a tree, like one who has placed their trust in the Lord, will consistently bear fruit, which is one of the primary purposes of a tree to begin with. This is also true of our lives as human beings on earth in that one of our primary purposes for our lives on earth is to “bear fruit” all the years the Lord has given us to live. We, like a well watered tree has the ability to provide shade, which leads to “rest” for us when we are in need. And when we delight in and meditate on the Word of God (the Bible) as the blessed man does (Psalm 1), we too, will be like a tree planted by streams of water. This gives us firmly planted roots in Jesus, our ultimate source of life who brings us nourishment and refreshment. As a result, we will be equipped and able to bring nourishment and refreshment not only to ourselves, but to others. You see, God gives us good things not only for ourselves but for our purpose in life to help and bless others in their times of difficulty. If we focus only on ourselves and don’t share our shade and well watered existence in Christ with others, we have missed the mark. If we do as God tells us in Jeremiah and plant ourselves next to God the Ultimate source of our nourishment, then we will regularly bear fruit ( Galatians 5:22-23) and provide shade and rest to others who are buried or who are in need (Galatians 6:2,10).
• Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). As the world seems to be falling apart, we can find true rest only in Jesus Christ, the singular unchanging Changer, God and Creator of the entire universe. God is not surprised by what HAS happened, what is HAPPENING in the present, or what is YET to happen. He is infinite and omniscient, so He knows the past and the future as the present.
• As your start each day, please think about this and understand and be comforted by the truth that when are men and women “whose trust is in the LORD”, planting ourselves in God’s Word (the Bible daily) and His Spirit through prayer, fully trusting in Him, that we ourselves are like a tree planted by streams of water. As such we, like the three that “does not fear when heat comes” (Jeremiah 17:8), so are we who are rooted in Jesus have peace when troubles and trials come. As the leaves are always green on the tree planted next to water, so will the one “rooted and grounded in love” always be alive (Ephesians 3:17).
• In closing, “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” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

WHAT THE MATURE CHRISTIAN DOES DAILY

“Put away all malace and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3).

* A proper diet for Christian growth strives hard to eliminate malice, deceit, hypocracy, envy, and slander.

* A mature Christian develops (since accepting Christ) a good appetite, longing for “pure…milk” as a baby does.

* Milk, in this verse does not stand in contrast to solid food (as it does in 1 Corinthians 3:2) and (Hebrews 5:12) but includes all the Word of God.

* As a Christian for any length of time: Do you seek to out these things away? Do you seek God’s Word like pure milk as opposed to processed formula? Are you on solid ground regarding your faith and confidence that the Lord is good…all the time? Even in todays enviorment?

Make it a great day and ponder God’s truth regarding your growth in Christ and the Christian faith today forward-Steven Garofalo March 20, 2024 (Copyright 2023)

THE BIRTH OF ISREAL: “God appeared[a] to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel.” (GENESIS 35:9-10)

The SIGNIFICANCE of the Name “ISRAEL”

“God appeared[a] to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel” (Genesis 32:25-28)

• God allowed Himself to be overcome by Jacob, though He crippled him (whether temporarily or for the rest of his life is not stated. His limp, however was proof that this was no mere dream. The Lord wanted to depart before daylight lets Jacob see Him (cf. Ex. 33:20), but Jacob insisted on being blessed first. So God changed his name from “Jacob” (see 25:26) to “ISRAEL”, which means “he fights or persists WITH God” (in prevailing prayer).
• We too as God's grafted people should wrestle, respectfully with God to know Him better, to seek Him more deeply, and to seek all He has for us to do according to His will daily. have a blessed day!-Steven Garofalo