Thursday, May 8, 2025
Where Do You Place Your Trust? Submitted by Kay Crumley
What does it mean to trust something or someone? Some find trust hard because of past experiences of betrayal. Those who we trusted may not have been dependable causing us to be unwilling or unable to trust again. In our country many people place their trust in possessions or wealth. If we have enough ‘stuff’ we will be safe and protected from danger or harm. Others place their trust in other people believing that person will never disappoint them or betray them but that they will always be true and reliable. Those of us who have been blessed with long life are witnesses that both things and people fail at some point.
The Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah wrote both the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations where our passages come from today. He was the last prophet God sent to the Southern Kingdom of Judah and Benjamin before they were defeated; the other tribes had been taken into captivity. He was also known and the weeping prophet because he saw the stubbornness of the Israelite people which God had revealed would lead to their downfall. He had written, in Chapter 17, that the people had placed their trust in idols that were powerless and temporary. Yet, in verse 7 he proclaims that those who trust in the one true, eternal, creator God will be blessed. Don’t we all prefer blessings over curses? The people he was preaching to refused to turn from idol worship which would lead to God cursing them because of their unbelief.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
7 The person who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed.
Those who are gardeners, or just observers of nature, know that trees need to have a consistent source of water. Jeremiah uses the analogy of a tree that will be healthy in all seasons, all weather conditions if it is deeply rooted in the life-giving source of water. He likens that to one who’s faith is deeply rooted in God, our source of life. Our faith will sustain us in all life’s crises because we are ‘rooted’ in Him.
8 He will be like a tree planted by water:
it sends its roots out toward a stream,
it doesn’t fear when heat comes,
and its foliage remains green.
It will not worry in a year of drought
or cease producing fruit.
The passage in Lamentations that expands on the idea of having steadfast, unwavering, faith in God. The third chapter is written as a poem with each stanza beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This stanza is Teth the 9th letter of the Hebrew alphabet means GOOD, signifying His goodness, love, and mercy. We experience His goodness when we are patient and wait for Him and go after His will for our lives. It is good for us to shut up and be in His presence knowing our salvation always comes from Him alone. It is good for us to begin serving Him while we’re young rather than wait until we’ve reached old age to dedicate ourselves to Him.
Lamentations 3:25-27
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the person who seeks him.
26 It is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is still young.
Where do you place your trust? There will be times of stress, of fear, and of insecurity in our lives. Our circumstances change, the nation’s economy changes, and our leaders at all levels change. So where is your hope or trust placed? If it is in one of those unstable things like wealth, power, or position we will be disappointed. We may feel betrayed. Our anxiety increases as the temporary circumstances alter. However, there is One who is eternal, who is unchanging, who never fails those who trust in Him. He is in control of all, He is overall, He is creator and sustainer of all. Those whose confidence is in Him will be blessed. We will be rooted in live sustaining ‘Living’ water. We will know and experience His goodness as we serve Him.
