“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” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
When faced with hardships, burdened with the heavy question of why—why is this happening—how do you go on? The answer comes down to this: Who do you trust?
If I put my trust in earthly things and say, “This is how I go on,” what happens when those things are snatched away? If my trust is in money, what happens when the stock market crashes? If my trust is in health, what happens when the doctor tells me I have three weeks left to live?
If those temporary things are the source of my trust and confidence, I’m like a withered bush in the wastelands of the desert. My roots aren’t deep; they’re shallow. My hope is in things that don’t last.
How do we go on? “Trust in the Lord.” That doesn’t mean we’ll go through life without difficulties. In this sinful, broken world, everyone experiences hardships. The question isn’t “Will you suffer?” Everyone suffers. Both the withered shrub and the tree in Jeremiah chapter 17 were in the desert, facing the same heat and drought. Rather, the question is “Will you suffer twice?” by trusting in something temporary that cannot provide true and lasting relief.
How do we handle the heat, the droughts of life? Where is our trust rooted? Is it in the shallow soil of vain and empty things, or is it planted deeply in the promises of God? It needs to be in the Lord.
You and I know that. But that doesn’t mean we don’t struggle. We might look like we’ve got it all figured out, but inwardly, we’re falling to pieces and filled with guilt and shame. Trust in the Lord? In everything? I. Don’t. Do. That.
More often than not, I fall apart. “God, you say I’m blessed, but this sure doesn’t feel like it. You say I’m your child. You say you love me, but what I’m going through doesn’t feel like love. Why are you letting these things happen to me?”
In those painful moments, God has an answer. In everything, God assures us that his grace is enough. He is enough. We can’t make it through life without him. That’s a fact. Without him, we crumble and fall apart. But with God, we have all that we need. He is all we need. Amid life’s sorrows and woes, it is enough for us to know who our God is and what he’s done for us.
He sent his Son Jesus into this sinful, broken world—a world full of hardships—to suffer and die. Isaiah described him as a man of sorrows—familiar with suffering. Not just on the cross, but throughout his whole life.
The people of his hometown rejected him, even tried to kill him. The people he came to save hated him, one friend betrayed him to his enemies, his other friends denied or deserted him, and crowds clamored for his death, shouting, “Crucify.” He was whipped, bloodied, beaten with fists and rods, spit on, mocked, pierced with nails and thorns, and hung on a tree.
But that wasn’t the worst of it—that was yet to come. There on the cross, Jesus experienced the wrath of God for the sins of the world—yours and mine—and he cried out, “My God, my God, why? Why have you forsaken me?
Yet even in asking that question, you better believe Jesus’ roots were solid. They ran deep. They didn’t even budge with all the fury and heat of hell thrown at them. Even forsaken by his Father, Jesus trusted in the Lord. His heart was always turned to his God, steadfast and resolute.
Why? For you. For me. That perfect trust was needed to break the chains of sins and death that held us fast. When Jesus cried out in victory, “It is finished!” that was a declaration and a promise—made by God. All our sins are forgiven—including not trusting the Lord with our whole hearts.
We have eternal life—not because of anything we’ve done, but because of Jesus. No matter what happens in life, those who trust in him are blessed. Our Redeemer has promised that, and all his promises are always true.
How do we go on? By being rooted in God’s Word and his promises to us. He’s what we need. What happens if the stock market crashes and we lose everything we’ve worked for? God promises us that our treasure—that which will never be tarnished, destroyed, or snatched away—is in heaven. What happens if the doctor tells us we’re dying? Our God points us to the cross and the empty tomb and says, “Because I live, you too shall live.” What happens if we’re feeling overwhelmed by life’s difficulties? God says, “Come to me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.”
Our God promises us that he’s enough for us.
No matter what, dear Christian, we are blessed.
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Using the words of the Aaronic blessing, The Lord Bless You is a brief, inspirational book that explains what it means to be blessed by God. Personal prayers that fit many different situations are also included in this comforting devotional resource.
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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