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Why Suffer in the Desert When You Can Thrive by the Stream?

In Jeremiah 17:5-8, God spoke through his prophet to the wayward people of Judah.

Thus says the LORD:

_________________ Cursed is the man who trusts in man
______________________ and makes flesh his strength,
______________________ whose heart turns away from the LORD.
_________________ He is like a shrub in the desert,
______________________ and shall not see any good come.
_________________ He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
______________________ in an uninhabited salt land.

On the other hand…

_________________ Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
______________________ whose trust is the LORD.
_________________ He is like a tree planted by water,
______________________ that sends out its roots by the stream,
_________________ and does not fear when heat comes,
______________________ for its leaves remain green,
_________________ and is not anxious in the year of drought,
______________________ for it does not cease to bear fruit.

This most fundamental of choices continues to be made. It is a choice you will make today.

  • Cursed or blessed?
  • Like a shrub or a tree?
  • The desert or the stream?
  • The lack of any good or the absence of fear?
  • The parched places of the wilderness or healthy endurance in the midst of the heat?
  • An uninhabited salt land or bountiful fruit, even in the midst of drought?

On what does your choice hinge? The object of your trust.

  • Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength.
  • Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.

Why continue to suffer in the desert when you can thrive by the stream?

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