Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. – Jeremiah 17:5-8
The heath plant, a shrub with a shallow root system, is mentioned only in Jeremiah. While reading these verses about plants growing in the desert, I recalled my childhood. I grew up in the Mojave Desert with its unusual plants and wildlife. Anyone who has been to the desert in the southwestern United States or has watched a good, old western movie probably has seen a forlorn tumbleweed or two blown about by the ever-present wind. That tumbleweed is the above-ground portion of a variety of thistle shrubs that have died and have been carried off by the wind. This is due to its shallow root system being unable to anchor it firmly in the sandy soil of the desert. As the tumbleweed takes its bumpy and erratic journey around the desert, it sprinkles its seeds, leaving a legacy of future shallow-rooted thistles that also will not be able to live long in the windy, dry conditions.
Another unique desert plant is the Joshua tree. Someone who has never seen this ungainly yet impressive tree, especially at sunset when silhouetted against a pink desert sky, is missing so much! In contrast to the short lifespans of those future tumbleweed bushes, a Joshua tree can live up to 150 years. The root system of a Joshua tree is fibrous; it does not resemble that of a majestic oak’s woodsy roots. The tangled mat of thin but numerous roots spreads laterally six to eight feet and burrows three to four feet deep. This army of spindly roots is expert at seeking any underground water, which the Joshua tree will then store for the days when absolutely no water can be found underground.
Jeremiah compares a shallow-rooted, unreliable, vulnerable, and powerless shrub with the man who trusts in man. Similarly, we often are tempted to rely on men. The men in question could be ourselves or others. This trust could involve man’s strength, man’s reasoning, man’s sense of justice, man’s emotions, man’s heart, or man’s goodwill. Verse 9 continues, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Our emotions are a God-given gauge but not a guide.
In these turbulent times with uncertainty in every arena, the verse the Lord continually has put on my heart since the early part of 2020 was Isaiah 33:6. This verse says, And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation:… Our trust—no matter what the external circumstances—can be settled, secure, and unwavering when we know that the Lord holds us in the palm of His hand. Wisdom and knowledge begins with the fear of the Lord, which is taking God seriously at His Word. I need to seek His wisdom found in His Word if I want to be able to say with honesty that I am trusting in the Lord. I desire to say as the psalmist did, My heart is fixed,… Having my trust anchored in the only secure and unwavering Source is the secret to thriving like a tree planted by water in non-ideal conditions. In fact, non-ideal conditions are pretty much all we can expect on Earth!
So many of us have trust issues, and who can blame us? Deceit seems to be rampant in this day in which we live. What we thought were credible sources of information, friendship, or guidance may have let us down; that is, except for One! The Lord is incapable of infidelity. He alone governs with perfect justice. He is blameless and upright. No one who ever put his trust in the Lord has been let down.
What makes us able to trust someone freely? Usually, we need to get to know that person for a while. My first appointment with a new hair stylist is much different than the 100th appointment with that same stylist. By then, instead of giving a myriad of instructions and careful explanations of what I want, I plop down and let the stylist do her thing. The history of successful appointments builds an easy trust.
What kind of history do we have with God? Do we ever stop and consider what He has done for us? Do we purposefully reflect on times when we did not see a way but now see how He was working? Years of allowing His will in our lives and knowing that …all things work together for good to them that love God… truly can allow us to “plop down and let Him do His thing.” Peace and rest are an actual possibility in the most tempestuous of days.
Here are two practical suggestions for building an easy trust in the Lord:
- Meditate on God’s track record. Journal it, share it, and pray about it. Remember and be amazed.
- Study the names of God. He is called by many names in the Bible, each revealing an aspect of His character. When we know Him, though we are barely able to scratch the surface of His attributes, we will not be able to help but to trust Him more!
One unusual piece of God’s creation I would like to mention that also is found in the Mojave Desert is the vinegarroon. Also called the whip scorpion, it may be the ugliest arachnid on Earth. It is named for its acidic discharge that smells like vinegar. Is there a spiritual application for the vinegarroon? Probably, but I do not know what it is; it is just a crazy, ugly bug that I think everyone should know exists! If nothing else, we can be thankful there are no vinegarroons running loose in our houses!
by Kayte McCoy
