Verse of the Week

Jeremiah 17:5-8

⁵ Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
⁶ For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.

⁷ “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
⁸ For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear^[b] when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

This passage has been constantly on my mind for the last few weeks.  Its changing the way I think about everything.  

I love how the first two verses are such a stark contrast to the last two verses.  And verse seven is the one I cling to.  I've started to view everything through this lens of God being my hope and not letting anything else be: Not the end of the school week, or 8 o'clock when the kids are in bed, or trouble free days.  Not date night, that piece of chocolate in the cabinet, buying a new pair of shoes, or seeing how many people "liked" my instagram photo.  Those things can all be good, but they cannot be my hope, because they will not give me lasting satisfaction.  Only He can do that.  Which is different than putting my hope or trust IN God.  Additionally to trusting and hoping IN Him, He Himself needs to be my prize, my hope.  He Himself satisfies me.  My prayer is that I acknowledge that consistently.  That I seek Him and not put other things in that place.

I finally get why the Psalmist says in Psalm 27: "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."  I love that we have the hope of seeing God, seeing His goodness, having relationship with him RIGHT NOW and seeing Him unfold His character and show us more of who He is.  And that right there is where my hope is. He is my hope.