CURSED OR BLESSED
CURSED OR BLESSED
This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” —Jeremiah 17:5-10
Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. —Jeremiah 18:5-10
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. I Timothy 6:6-10
These 3 passages above all speak to priorities in an individual’s life or a nation’s life. First, are we trusting in our own strength, having walked away from the Lord? That is a curse to be living like this and will the individual or nation will be in a parched place. None can understand the deceitfulness of their own heart. Only our Lord truly knows our hearts and as the Potter He can do whatever He desires with us, the clay in His hands. He is the One who uproots, tears down and destroys nations because of their evil. He is also the One who builds up and plants nations as well. When the focus of an individual or nation is on discontentment and becoming rich, a love for money, then that root of evil will cause people to wander “from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
On the other hand those who put their trust and confidence in the Lord are blessed. They are like a prosperous, healthy and flourishing tree — “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:3). These God honoring people are content, understanding that “we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” So let us trust in our Lord and be content, pliable in the Potter’s hand to become what He desires us to be and doing what He desires us to do. This is all out of love for Him and people. My Father may this be so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAyl9Dg-89s