Read Jeremiah 17:5-8 NIV
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.”
I have a love of plants! I love growing flowers, and garlic, and veggies….all the plants! My gardens are my happy place! After learning a few tricks of the trade, I don’t have much fear in splitting plants and propagating them. For the most part, I have a pretty good success rate. But I historically have not been so great with houseplants!
My gardens are usually healthy and growing, but most plants that I have tried to grow indoors have met an untimely demise. I do have a few that are still surviving…But I think that says more about the plant than my ability to care for it. For years, I couldn’t figure it out, but I think I know why now. It’s really quite simple. Nature helps me out in the garden. My attention span is short, and while I may remember to water my garden when the plants are small and fragile for a little while, I soon shirk my watering duties. But nature almost always fills in the gap where I leave off. The plants in my garden have an advantage because they are rooted and connected to something much bigger – the earth! The plants in my house are only connected to me, and well… they suffer for it.
Today’s verses paint a very similar picture for us. They contrast what it looks like when we aren’t connected to God and when we are.
When we aren’t connected to God, or are connected only to ourselves and the world we live in, things start to go off track. We might do ok for a while, but sooner or later, after running at the pace of the world and connected to only ourselves, we start running on empty – with no way to replenish ourselves.
When we stay connected to God’s Word regularly, we are constantly renewed and refreshed. We’re fed by God’s promises and direction, and we can grow in our relationship with Him. Apart from Him, we wouldn’t fare much better than my poor houseplants. We need to stay connected to God because that is where we find the strength to live and grow at a pace He determines so that we can be who He has created us to be.
