“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-87Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7‑8)
These verses provide a wonderful contrast to verses 5 and 6 of the same chapter. If we look to the Lord and trust in Him for every need, we’ll find in Him a never-failing source of refreshment. Then we’ll be like a tree planted by the waters, not like a juniper in the dessert, where all is dry and the tree stands alone.
This tree grows by the life-sustaining waters. Instead of not seeing the good (vs. 6), we will not see the heat. Our leaf will be green as we draw refreshment from the river of God’s fullness which can’t run dry. And “in the year of drought,” we won’t be full of care or anxiety. There will be no worries, even with no outward source of happiness (friends, happiness in marriage, good health, obedient children, plenty of money) because the roots of this life are by a never-failing stream.
“Neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” Have we become discouraged and stopped some work for our Lord? Or, more to the point, is the fruit of the Spirit hindered in our life, or nearly gone? It won’t be if we once again turn to the Lord in faith, stop looking to people or things on this earth to meet our needs, and look for all our needs to be met by Him alone. He is faithful. He will never fail the one who looks to Him. Look and live. “Looking unto Jesus” (Heb. 12:22Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)). That word looking has the thought of looking away from other things and fixing the eye exclusively on something. Where, or to whom, are we going to look for our happiness today?