Ep. 181. Jeremiah 12-18 | The Potter and the Clay

EPISODE 181

THE POTTER AND THE CLAY: JEREMIAH 12-18 (ISH)

Let's spend a few minutes in Chapter 17 today. There are two types of people: those who trust in man (or self) and those who put their trust in the Lord. Every human on this planet falls into one of those two categories. This section of Chapter 17 reminds us very much of the first Psalm. The two texts are so similar that we might even wonder if Jeremiah didn't use the first Psalm as inspiration.

"Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength." Such a person is like a dry shrub in the desert. Nothing good comes to him. The result of the wicked, those who deny God, whose hearts turn from the Lord, is that they are like chaff before the God of heaven. They are burned up. They are blown away. They can not remain in the presence of God.

However, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord." That person will flourish. Like a tree planted by water, that individual has no fear of heat or drought. The one who trusts in the Lord will not only have green leaves but will also bear fruit.

This takes us back to yesterday and the differences between those who boast in themselves and those who boast in God. Those who have faith in God boast and bear fruit in and through him.

It isn't difficult to discern where someone has put their trust. Pain and suffering, or as the text calls it, "heat and drought," come into every individual's life at some point. Listen carefully to their response to this suffering, and you will quickly know where their confidence truly lies. I have seen people diagnosed with cancer who shake their fists at God and leave the faith, never to return, and I've seen those diagnosed with cancer who cling more tightly to the one who formed them and loves them. Paul and Silas worshipped in their chains because they trusted the Lord.

Let us ensure that our trust rests entirely in our God.

ADDITIONAL READING: Isaiah 61:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:3;

Psalm 1; Psalm 20:7-9; Matthew 13: 23; Acts 16:22-25