In today’s devotional, all about putting our hope and confidence in God, is from the book of Jeremiah (one of the prophets in the Old Testament.) I recommend grabbing a notebook or journal and a pen to help you reflect on today’s passage (but it’s entirely up to you, of course!)
Read What Jeremiah Says About God Being Our Hope and Confidence
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Key Verse: v7 (NLT)
But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
What Does it Mean?
Today’s passage is all about trust, hope, and confidence, and specifically, where we place our trust. We have two primary courses of action to take when it comes to where we put our trust – we can put our trust in humans, and human strength (which includes depending on our own strengths and abilities to get us out of tight spots) or we can put our trust in God.
The imagery of the passage is vivid, contrasting the two options quite starkly and making it abundantly clear which of the two available options we should go for. We are “cursed” when we put our trust in “mere humans” (Jer 17:5) and “blessed” when we trust in the Lord (Jer 17:7). (This idea of blessings and curses is common in the Old Testament!)
Trust in humans and in our own strength causes our growth to be stunted and our lives to be barren and without hope. By contrast, putting our hope and confidence in God leads to a kind of personal growth that is not dependent on circumstances around us (Jer 17:8). Furthermore, when we trust in God, we will “never stop producing fruit.”
There’s no mincing of words in this passage, no room for ambiguity. It’s a passage that we can draw comfort from whenever we are beset by doubts about our faith and something that we can remind ourselves of when we’re tempted to look to human strength and resources to solve our problems. Trusting in our own strengths doesn’t pay off in the long run, whereas trusting God has us producing fruit even in the dry seasons of our lives.
Bottom Line
We have a choice to make over where we place our trust: will we put our hope and confidence in other people or our own strength, or will we place our trust in God? Today’s passage contrasts these two options quite vividly, making it clear that although the world conditions us to trust in our human strength, such trust is unfounded and doesn’t lead to a hopeful future.
Rather, we should put our trust in God because He promises us hope and a future that is not dependent upon the circumstances around us. When our hope and confidence are in God, we will be rewarded for our faithfulness.
Journaling and Reflection
- The imagery in today’s passage is vivid. Spend a few minutes re-reading verses 5-8. How can you use these images as a visual aid to help you direct your trust?
- Verse 10 reminds us that God sees everything that we do and the motives for which we do them. How does this make you feel? Why?
- Trusting in God means that we will bear fruit in all seasons. What evidence of this can you see in your own life? How can this be an encouragement during stormy seasons?
Prayer Pointers
Thank God for His trustworthiness and faithfulness. Ask Him to help you always be mindful of where you are placing your trust.
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