His Encouragement: Like a tree planted by water

Welcome! Welcome, dearest friends, to His Encouragement: Biblical Inspiration for Your Thursday. Every Thursday, a few blogging friends and I will each bring you a Bible passage and a little hope-filled discussion. We pray that these Thursday posts help you end your week strong in God’s love and purpose for you.

Today’s Encouragement

“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, ESV

I have been reading passages from Jeremiah lately for inspiration, and it is probably time to read the entire book from beginning to end. One particular passage that I would like to share today is taken from Jeremiah 17:7-8.

In the opening verses of this particular chapter, the Lord convicts the people of Judah of the sin of idolatry and pronounces their punishment to be captivity. (vs 1-4)

Especially taken within the context of the rest of the book of Jeremiah, who is sometimes referred to as the weeping prophet, this chapter starts off very grim. The people of Judah have turned their backs on the Lord and refused to obey His statutes and commands, which are only meant for their good and well-being. They have openly embraced selfishness and worship pagan gods.

Yet they were blinded to their sins. The Lord here is answering the people’s question from one chapter earlier: “…What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?” (Jeremiah 16:10)

Then in verses 5 and 6, the Lord continues to explain that when people turn away from Him and put their trust in themselves and fellow flawed men, they are “…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.”

Are we any different today?

How many times have we turned away from the Lord? How many times have we placed our trust in ourselves and our meager abilities instead of trusting in Him? How many times have we put our confidence in other people when we should be leaning on the One who created us?

Just like with the people of Judah, sometimes the Lord steps back and allows the consequences of our actions and our choices to unfold so that our eyes will be opened to our sins and to our mistakes. But He does not abandon us!

Even in the midsts of all of the doom and gloom in Jeremiah 17, the Lord gives His beloved people a beautiful promise: “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.” (vs 7-8)

Friend, whatever you are going through today, take hold of this promise. If you trust in the Lord, you will be like a tree planted by water who has no fear when heat or drought comes. If you trust in the Lord, you will not fear the storms and trials of life, for you will be rooted firmly in the One who created life!

Be sure to also visit my fellow bloggers and read their encouragement for your Thursday as well:

• Trisha of Joy of Reading
• Nicole of The Christian Fiction Girl
• Jessica of A Baker’s Perspective
• Becca of The Becca Files
• Gina of Stories by Gina
• Rev. Rebecca Writes

Hi there, blogger. Would you like to join us in sharing encouragement from the Word of God every Thursday? Don’t be shy! Contact Trisha or Nicole today!

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