Blesed is the One Who Trusts in the Lord

The LORD himself defines both the blessed and the cursed life in Jeremiah 17:5-8. He reveals in this passage that he is the source of all life and that trusting in him results in flourishing, even in the presence of fiery trials and seasons of suffering.

The Blessed Life – What is it?

In our culture, the blessed life is often defined by one’s ability to achieve the American dream. While this definition has been slightly modified over time, the overall description remains the same. In America, a person is considered blessed when their external circumstances meet certain requirements. As a result, the goal of this blessed life is to pursue things like a quality education that can secure gainful employment, along with a happy family, possessions, investments, and a surplus of resources. Flourishing occurs when families pursuing this dream live in community with other like-minded people who have similar goals and aspirations.

On the other hand, God’s definition of the blessed life begins with an emphasis on the source of all blessing – God himself. He describes human flourishing as the result of a person’s dependent relationship with himself, fueled by their desire to make him their greatest pursuit.

To help us better understand the essence of this life, he begins in Jeremiah 17 with a description of what he considers the cursed life. He declares that anyone who refuses to trust in him but instead trusts in other humans and their own fleshly strength are living the cursed life. This life is cursed primarily because they have turned away from total dependence on the Lord. And God likens it to living in a lonely salt wasteland without inhabitants and no hope for prosperity. 

In contrast, God reveals that the person who puts their trust and confidence in him is truly blessed and will flourish. This life, portrayed throughout Scripture, is not one that is free from hardship and suffering but prospers and produces fruit in the midst of fiery trials and hardship. God explains in Jeremiah 17:8 that this thriving happens because the person is planted near to him and dwells in his very presence. Since he is the “spring of living water” (17:13), their roots drink from him a steady supply of his sustenance.

Flourishing in the Heat

God assures those who put their confidence in him that they do not need to fear when trials come (17:8). Despite the heat of the hardship, they remain confident that their leaves will remain green. The Bible has a lot to say about trials and often refers to them as fiery, indicating the purifying purpose of their presence designed to test the heart. While the very nature of the trial is painful, God amazingly promises in this passage that those who trust him will not live in fear of being burned up or consumed by the hardship. Because God is with them, they have peace and know that he will keep them safe. This assurance, along with the Lord’s daily nourishment, enables them to continue growing and producing life.

Confidence in the Drought

In seasons of drought or shortage, God declares that the one who trusts in him will experience “no worries.” This also defies human logic since a drought in the land was a sign of God’s judgment, which usually resulted in panic and anxiety among the people. But this passage shows that those who dwell in God’s presence and drink from his water will “never fail to bear fruit”—even in the most severe drought.

We see from God’s description of the blessed and cursed life that there are essentially two ways to live and two outcomes. One is to trust in ourselves, others, and our resources, and the other is to recognize our deep dependence on the Lord and trust in him with all our hearts. One refuses to rely on God and instead puts its confidence in the flesh, while the other knows that in the flesh dwells no good thing. One results in parched, desolate wasteland living, where there is no ability to thrive, while the other is anchored to the life-giving source of water – God himself -- and never ceases to bear fruit. 

The question we must ask ourself is this — Which one describes my life?

“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” (Jeremiah 17:5-8). 

Character Sketch of a False Prophet

As Barnabas and Paul were being led by the Holy Spirit to Cyprus on their first missionary journey, they encountered opposition from a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. Like the false prophets of the Old Testament, his life exhibited distinct characteristics that revealed his true identity as an enemy of God. By examining these qualities, we can be prepared, like Paul and Barnabas, to stand in the Spirit’s power against the lies of impostors of the Gospel with boldness and wisdom.

Opposers of True Faith

In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas set out on an exciting mission to proclaim the truth of the Gospel to unreached people in Cyprus. One of the stops they made on this journey was the city Paphos, where they had an unusual encounter with a sorcerer and false prophet by the name of Bar-Jesus. Luke writes that he was an attendant to the proconsul -- an office that was similar to an appointed governor today. He heard news about the work and witness of Paul and Barnabas and sent for them. On learning about this, Bar-Jesus began opposing them and sought to “turn the proconsul from the faith” by speaking against the disciples (Acts 13:8).

Interestingly, Paul did not try to discourse with the false prophet or to evangelize him, but instead boldly opposed him. In the power of the Holy Spirit, he declared to Bar-Jesus, whose name ironically means “son of the Savior,” that he was the exact opposite – a child of the devil (Acts 13:10). Paul’s rebuke, which sounds harsh in our relativistic culture, was based on Jesus’ very words to those who opposed him in John 8:44. He declared, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.”

This reminds us of the central truth throughout Scripture that there is no neutrality. We are either for God or against him. The ones in the Bible and those we encounter in this life who not only reject God’s words for eternal life but who also actively speak against it show their true identity as false prophets and children of the wicked one.

Enemy of All That Is Right

Paul continues to tell Bar-Jesus that he is an “enemy of everything that is right” (Acts 13:10). To oppose the truth of the Gospel and the Lordship of Jesus is to oppose God himself and become his enemy. One of the chief characteristics of the false prophet is the inability to speak truth, just like Satan. Jesus describes him as a “murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

While Bar-Jesus and other false prophets masquerade as people of insight and integrity, the rottenness of their hearts prevents them from doing anything righteous. Not only are they unable to do good, they have yielded to the fleshly desire to destroy all that is good and comes from God. We can recognize them by the fruit of their lips, as they go about opposing the truth of the Word of God, and by their lives. About this, Jesus warned, “By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:16-18).

Full of Deceit and Trickery

It’s interesting to note the difference in the way Paul and Barnabas were sent off and how Bar-Jesus was driven. We see that they went out in the power and the fullness of the Holy Spirit while he was driven along by the power of the wicked one. Paul rebukes him for being filled with deceit and trickery rather than truth and revelation from God, which he pretended to bring (Acts 13:10). Jesus warned about this in Matthew 7:15 when he said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."

Pervert the Right Way of the Lord

Paul uses another all-inclusive word to explain Bar-Jesus’ actions in subverting the truth. He declares, “You never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord” (Acts 13:10). By this, Paul meant that he always distorted and twisted the way of Truth, which echoes God’s own declaration in Genesis 6 about sinful humanity -- that all the inclinations of the human heart are evil (Genesis 6:5). Paul’s words in Romans 3, which describe all of humanity in Adam, provide a detailed character sketch for the false prophet who knowingly has distorted the right way of the Lord.

The Hand of the Lord Against Him

Since Bar-Jesus was resisting and rejecting the person and work of Christ, Paul reminded him that the very hand of the Lord was against him (Acts 13:11). At this, God struck him blind so that he couldn’t even see the light from the sun. This physical demonstration of God‘s judgment, which happened immediately and left him groping about in the darkness, was a picture of his utter depravity and the spiritual darkness that he lived in. God exposed the wickedness of his heart through the apostle Paul’s rebuke and then laid bare his hidden sin before all those he sought to deceive. This immediate judgment revealed to all who were present that God was the sovereign Lord. His power, which trumped the power of the sorcerer and the demons controlling him, left the proconsul in awe. When he saw what happened, “he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord” (Acts 13:12).

Like Bar-Jesus, the false prophets today seek to lead others astray. They oppose the Spirit’s revelation of the Messiah and work to hinder the advancement of the kingdom of God by spreading messages that are contrary to the Word. It’s vital to first remember that God is sovereign and reigns over them all. From this place of confidence in God we can remain sober-minded and alert so that we can discern and lovingly but firmly stand against their deception.

"Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion” (Jude 1:11).

Whoever Has Ears, Let Him Hear

I had the chance to sit at the table with Jesus today and watch a scene play out that I’ve seen countless times before. Lazarus reclined at the table with Jesus and his disciples, while Martha rushed about preparing a meal. Amid the ordinary, Mary brought out a pound of perfume from pure nard, worth a year’s salary. Then, in front of everyone, she poured it out and anointed Jesus’ feet -- wiping it with her hair. The smell of sweet perfume filled the air, but along with it was the tension of Judas’ disapproving presence. He criticized her for being too extravagant, saying that the sale of the perfume could have been given to the poor. Jesus spoke up and with words of compassion defended Mary. “Leave her alone” he calmly said, reminding Judas, Mary and all the others that the Father had sent Mary for this specific task to anoint him in preparation of his upcoming death.

Shift in perspective

For the first time in reading the passage I noticed something different. It’s like gazing at a picture repeatedly only to notice a detail one day that changes the whole meaning of the picture. My eyes had always been fixed on Mary’s extravagant and unusual sacrifice. This time my attention shifted to the heart posture of Judas instead of Mary. Both journeyed with Jesus through towns and villages and witnessed his divine power and goodness. Both sat at his feet and heard his teaching about the principles of the Kingdom of God and that he was the promised Messiah-King. The seed of the Word spoken by the eternal Word fell on the soil of both of their hearts, receiving the same sunshine, rain and air. But the outcome was completely different.

Different kinds of soil

Jesus talked about this reality in the parable of the sower, showing that the same seed has different outcomes based on the condition of the soil. In a similar way, the seed that fell on Judas’ heart was like the seed that fell among the thorns and on the rocky ground. “The worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth [choked] it out, making it unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). But the seed that fell on Mary’s heart fell on good ground and yielded a plentiful harvest (13:23). 

This provides an accurate picture of what is happening today in the evangelical church among professing believers in America. We all sit at the table with the risen and reigning Christ when we come to hear the Word, worship and participate in the sacraments. We encounter his glory as the God-Man in the Gospels as he exhibits power over sin, sickness, death and even nature. We hear his declaration that he and the Father are one, and that he is the only way to eternal life – the living bread and the only source of true sustenance. And then we hear him calling us to become his disciples – to yield our treasures to him so that we can embrace him as our true Treasure (Matthew 13:45-46). 

Like Mary and Judas, some 2000 years ago, the condition of the soil of our hearts impacts the way we listen to and respond to the message of Christ’s call to discipleship. Though we have the same access to the Truth, some listen to understand while others “are ever hearing but never understanding” (Matthew 13:14). Some offer their lives as living sacrifices to the reigning King, holding nothing back. Like Moses, they choose to regard “disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt” because they are looking to their eternal reward (Hebrews 11:26). 

Others, under Judas’ guise of widsom, refuse to pour out their life as a sacrificial offering to the Lord and instead give themselves to the ruler of this age. They appear to be authentic followers of Christ, but hidden below the surface are hardened hearts filled with every form of evil (Romans 1:29). The apostle John explains the reason for this in John 12:43 when he writes, “They loved human praise more than praise from God.” They are incapable of hearing God’s message and trusting him because rather than love God, they are lovers of themselves and money (2 Timothy 3:2). They have “a form of godliness but [deny] its power” (3:5).

Day of Reckoning

It may appear on the surface that they will escape the judgment of God, like it did when Judas was sitting at the table with Jesus. Jesus’ words to him were mildly confrontational as he told him to leave Mary alone, much like a parent would do with a troublesome child. However, as we fast forward a few chapters, we see that his rebuke became an eternal one – recorded on the pages of Scripture. John refers to him as the “son of destruction” and (John 17:12) we see that the money he treasured over Jesus was thrown to the ground and memorialized as cursed, along with his life (Matthew 27:6-10).

The sobering message I’m reminded of today as I gaze upon this scene along with Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the sower is the importance of bending my ear to carefully listen to the instruction of the Lord (Luke 8:18). He promises that if we listen to understand and obey what he tells us to do, we will  produce a good crop – “a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:8). Like Mary, our faith will flourish, and we’ll bring glory to the Lord. If, on the other hand, we close our ears to his instruction and allow the cares of the world and the praise of man to grab our hearts, even what we have will be taken away (Matthew 13:12). 

There are two kinds of people. Both sitting at the table with Jesus. One has ears to hear. The other does not. Praying that we will be those who listen to understand and who then pour out our lives in a sacrificial way to honor God and bring him glory.

“Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matthew 11:15).