A Blessing On The One Who Trusts In The Lord

Theme: A blessing on the one who trusts in the Lord

Text: Jer. 17:5-8; Gal. 3:6-9; Luke 6:17-26

Read Jeremiah 17:7-8 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord. And whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But her leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from bearing fruit.”

Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness and the other is for guidance. Consciously or unconsciously, his inner being longs for both. There are times when he actually cries out for them, even though in his restlessness, confusion and fear, he may not know what he is crying for. God met our need for forgiveness at Calvary. He sent His only Son into the world to die for our sins, that we might be forgiven. And this gift of God’s salvation is for everyone who truly admits he has sinned, repents and turns to God by receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. God also met our need for guidance and answered it at Pentecost when He sent the HS. God does not want us to come to Christ by faith, and then lead a life of defeat and discouragement. Rather, He wants to “fulfil every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power; in order that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in us.” God has given to each of us our own respective talents and abilities but many of us are doing nothing with them because of fear. The only way to get the courage to use our talents and abilities is to believe what the Word of God says about us. We must believe that it is God’s will that we live successful lives, and that He has given us everything we need to achieve it. All we have to do is trust Him and venture out boldly to live the kind of lives He has called us to live - lives filled with His blessings. This is why Jeremiah writes, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord. And whose hope is in the Lord.” Blessed means to be happy, contented, and at peace with oneself. That is God’s will for our lives. We are “like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But her leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from bearing fruit.” This is a description of every person who trusts in the Lord. Putting one’s trust in someone is to make that person your refuge, like David nestling under God’s wings for refuge as described in the Psalms. In the same manner, a defenceless but trusting baby bird hides itself under its parent’s feathers. There is a blessing on the one who trusts in the Lord.

The person we trust determines our conduct and attitudes and the way we behave. Our behaviour gives an insight into our true human condition. Trusting Christ should result in total dependence on Him and in right and Godlike attitudes. It does not result as many preach today in wealth, 4-Wheel Drive’s, BMW’s and houses with swimming pools. Many people prefer to not put their trust in Christ but in man or in themselves. Some rich people usually see themselves as “self-sufficient,” and believe that they have no need for God. We all need to trust Christ and as the Psalmist concludes, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses. But we will remember the name of our God.”

Some people really believe that it is possible to put their trust in both God and man. An atheist, a person who does not believe in God, knowing he was about to die called for a minister and wanted to be baptised. Asked why he had changed his mind he replied that he was only making provision just in case what they had been saying about heaven was true. Such people belong to those people who wear a belt and braces at the same time. This is proof that they do not trust the one or the other and a double minded person receives nothing from the Lord. We need to trust the Lord completely like a little child trusts its parents. A child playing with his or her father will not hesitate to jump into his arms because he or she is sure that the father will catch him and not let him fall. He is sure because the father had done so on numerous previous occasions. The child has a basis for its trust. God has done so much for us that we have no excuse not to believe and trust Him. How can we not trust the One who gave His only Son to die a cruel death so that we might be saved?