Jeremiah 17 reminds us that we should seek after the LORD and put our trust in Him. We must not trust in our feelings or the leadings of our heart, which can be deceptive and lead us astray. We must put our faith firmly in God and His ways and then we will flourish like a tree by the water. Even should hard times come upon us, like extended drought can impact the trees, we will flourish.
The Deceitful Heart
1The sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart
And on the horns of their altars,
2As they remember their children,
So they remember their altars and their Asherim
By green trees on the high hills.
3O mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will give over your wealth and all your treasures for booty,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
4And you will, even of yourself, let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your enemies
In the land which you do not know;
For you have kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.
5Thus says the LORD,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6“For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
7“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust is the LORD.
8“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.
9“The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
10“I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds.
11“As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the midst of his days it will forsake him,
And in the end he will be a fool.”
12A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13O LORD, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You will be put to shame.
Those who turn away on earth will be written down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the LORD.
14Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.
15Look, they keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come now!”
16But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd after You,
Nor have I longed for the woeful day;
You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
17Do not be a terror to me;
You are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18Let those who persecute me be put to shame, but as for me, let me not be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed.
Bring on them a day of disaster,
And crush them with twofold destruction!
I am grateful that God is so worthy of our trust, and that He is graceful and forgiving when I struggle to fully trust Him. I can come to Him and ask Him to help me in my unbelief.
Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ
Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.