A contrast of trees
Tell me if any of these phrases sound familiar:
If you want it done right, do it yourself.
Always better to go it alone.
Take matters into your own hands.
Get your act together.
There are many ways we express our self-sufficiency. We act and think (or at least project to others) like we are self-made men and women. We flex our strengths in our possessions, our words, and our online profiles. In last week’s post, we found out what God says happens to us when we puff ourselves up with self-reliance:
Jeremiah 17:5-6
This is what the Lord says:
Cursed is the person who trusts in mankind.
He makes human flesh his strength and his heart turns from the Lord.
He will be like a juniper in the Arabah;
he cannot see when good comes
but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness,
in a salt land where no one lives.
Jeremiah’s audience understood that the juniper in the Arabah was an isolated tree, living a depressing life in a barren, scorched-desert wasteland. God says that is where we end up when we find our strength in our own efforts and abilities.
Thankfully, God also offers a contrasting option. And His example is in the life of another tree:
Jeremiah 17:7-8
The person who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed.
He will be like a tree planted by water:
it sends its roots out toward a stream,
it doesn’t fear when heat comes,
and its foliage remains green.
It will not worry in a year of drought
or cease producing fruit.
A juniper in the Arabah sends its roots out in a wide, shallow radius in the hopes of collecting whatever moisture it can. In contrast, the tree planted by water knows exactly where its life-source is and taps into the flowing waters with confidence. This tree doesn’t fear when the day’s weather changes and heat comes, nor does it worry in a year of drought, when difficult circumstances linger long-term.
The comparison begs the question: Which tree do you want to be?
Trusting in your own strength, like a juniper in the Arabah?
OR
Placing your confidence in the Lord, like the tree planted by water?
Choose wisely.
Keep Pressing,
Ken