A Tree Planted by Water
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.”
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:5-8 (ESV)
I love the imagery in this passage. A tree full of life with its roots right down to the river; contrasted directly with a desert shrub parched with thirst in a salt land. Sometimes I think that it says all that is needed. I know that is an overstatement, but when you boil Christianity right down to its essence you find that trusting in the Lord is really the whole point. These two stark images are each the result of one’s placement of absolute trust. Place your trust in the Lord and live life abundantly, or the other, the constant thirsting with no real hope at all as the consequence for trusting in man. This illustration is a picture of the immense value of trusting in the Lord, and the total futility of trusting in oneself.
On a recent sailing adventure to the San Juan Islands my wife and I received three distinct lessons in trusting the Lord. Each bears some lasting imagery for us as well.
Our boat is thirty years old, and so is its engine. It should come as no surprise then that no matter how much faith I put in the engine it is still susceptible to failure. Strange as it may seem, I was surprised and quite disappointed when the engine failed after carrying us nearly sixty miles in just two days. A part of me thought, “Lord, this is not fair. I wasn’t trusting in the engine, it’s old. I was trusting in you.” In the end, of course, I had to repent of that thought. Certainly the Lord knew how old the engine was; moreover he knew just how badly it needed a new fuel pump. He helped it along for the first sixty or so miles, allowing it to fail only after safely reaching a marina where there was a skilled boat mechanic to help us find and solve the problem. The Lord will provide; even while we vacation.
A couple of nights later we were anchored in a crowded little bay when the wind came up during the middle of the night. We awoke to find that our anchor was not holding, and that the wind was slowly driving us toward other boats. It was like a nightmare for us as we spent the next forty minutes motoring in circles trying to re-set the anchor with wind gusts fighting us at every turn. The next morning as I watched the peaceful sunrise, I remembered an impression from childhood of Jesus being the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul (found in Hebrews 6:19), and I thanked the Lord (my true anchor) that our engine had been repaired before the wind storm.
On the final day of our journey we had to traverse the sixty miles home from Friday Harbor in just one day. We got up early so we could take full advantage of the current only to find that the entire channel was covered in fog. As disheartening as this was we still hoped to get out on time. As the early morning passed we watched the fog slowly start to clear. We prayed for safety before leaving, and as we proceeded we chased the fog all the way to Cattle Pass. The fog hung thickly there and the pass is narrow. It would be dangerous for us to go through. At the entrance there was another boat waiting. We pulled alongside to discuss the situation with them only to find out that they were merely waiting for their radar to boot up. They quickly agreed to let us follow them safely through the pass. Psalm 37:5 plainly states; “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.”
“Some trust in chariots” (boats?) “and some in horses,” (engines?) “but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:7 (ESV)