Blind to Blessings

“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.” (Jer 17:5-6 AV)

We have to be careful in what or whom we place our trust.  Put our trust in the wrong thing or person, and we will not see the direction or answer we need the most.  The word ‘heath’ comes from a word meaning a juniper tree.  The juniper tree does not have all that much foliage compared to other trees.  The same word implies nudity.  Someone scantily clad while wandering in the desert would be destitute and overburdened with the heat of the sun.  He would be parched.  He would be so overcome with the difficulties of life, it would be hard to see the oasis on the horizon.  All because he chose to put his trust in anything other than God.  Herein are several lessons.

First, the good comes.  God does not always withhold or obscure blessings.  It is almost always there.  Like Abraham who passed by the ram while going to the place of sacrifice, we often miss God’s best for us because we trust in the wrong thing.  The answer to life’s challenges is not hidden where they cannot be found.  As one of my former pastors used to say, “God is infinitely more concerned that you find His will than you are.”

Second, God does not always answer when we think we need Him to.  The good comes in His time.  Not ours.  “When good cometh”, not the good that is present.   If the good is always present, then there would be no need for faith.  Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  There is an element of future tense here.  Faith is exercised on a future hope and what will be seen.  Those who panic and do not wait on God will never see the good that will come whether we see it or not.

Fourth, and probably the most dramatic of all applications, note the permanent state of the person who places his trust in someone other than God.  He shall inhabit the parched places and a land sown with salt.  This place has no hope of bearing any fruit.  This place has no future.  Yet, he shall dwell there.  Even though the good comes, he cannot see it.  Because he cannot see it, he cannot accept it.  Because he cannot accept it, he is destined to live in an arid and dry land with no hope of a future.

There is no way around living by faith.  This is what makes us different from the angels.  They live by sight.  We live by faith.  If we refuse to trust God above all others, we will live an unproductive life that has no future.  What concerns me the most is missing God’s best.  It will come.  But it will come and go if we do not look for it.  If we are not trusting the LORD first, then the blessings of life will pass us by.  We will be stuck living an empty life that amounts to very little.