I came across a very interesting and rather apt scripture recently. Jeremiah 17: 5-8. . As we heed the call to move forward, make progress, break out of stagnation and rediscover purpose, we would do well to keep Jeremiah 17:5-8 in mind.
Verse 5 says: Cursed is the man who trusts in man, who makes the arm of flesh his strength and whose heart departs from God. .
Could this be you? Have you stopped depending on God? Have you stopped trusting in Him? Are you getting carried away with your strengths and abilities? Has your heart departed from God? When was the last time you genuinely sought and obeyed God’s opinion on the issues in your life?
I love that this scripture says ‘…whose heart departs from God’. That means, God doesn’t leave us. We are the ones who move away from Him. Women have a lot on their plates, and a lot of us are struggling to keep it all together. Life can be tough.
But until we learn to trust and rely completely on God, His strength and wisdom, life will only get tougher. Verse 6 says the man/woman whose heart departs from God ‘will be like a shrub in the desert, and will not see when good comes but shall inhabit the parched places of the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited’.
Everyday will be a struggle, and even simple things will wear you out. Your life will be characterized by lack, emptiness and difficulty. People around you will get blessed, and you won’t.
Thank God it’s completely different for the woman who’ll trust and depend completely on God. She will be blessed like a tree planted by the river, she will not see/fear when heat comes, her leaves will always be green and she will always bear fruit.(verse 8).
This woman will face the battles and challenges of life unfazed, for her God instructs her in right judgement. She has grace, strength and her life is a blessing to all who come in contact with her.
Which would you rather be?
Shalom