Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

The prophet Jeremiah presents us today (Jeremiah 17:5-10) with such a simple choice: Do we want to be like a tree planted by water, or like a shrub in the desert? 

The tree, Jeremiah tells us, does not fear when heat comes, and its leaves stay green. Even when there is a drought, the tree is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. Why? Because it has sent out its roots by the stream. 

The shrub, on the other hand, is not only dried up in the parched wilderness, but it does not even see when relief comes. It has no roots, and does not have any access to water. It dries up and withers away. 

It is not a difficult choice, as Jeremiah presents it. We should all want to be the tree. But how? 

It’s very simple, really. It all comes down to what – or who – we trust. It all comes down to faith, as it so often does in scripture. 

“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,” Jeremiah writes. “They shall be like a tree planted by water.”

But “Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals … They shall be like a shrub in the desert.”

So, we are given a simple choice today, and it all comes down to where we place our trust. We become the tree by trusting in the Lord, rather than trusting in mere mortals. 

Pretty simple, right? I mean, I could just stop now, couldn’t I? That’s the sermon, today’s message, in a nutshell. 

Trusting Versus Believing

But what exactly does it mean to trust in the Lord? To put it another way, what is the difference between believing in something and trusting in it? 

I like to remind our confirmation students that the devil believes in God. In fact, the devil might believe in God more than we do. Because the devil knows that God exists. 

Believing in God doesn’t get us there, in other words. We can believe in God and still be a dried-up shrub. Because believing in God is not the same thing as trusting in God. 

There is a very big difference between the two, and the difference between them can change our life. 

So today I want to reflect on what it means to trust in God, and not just believe in him. And then look at some ways to deepen that trust. 

Trusting God’s Plan

And I want to start by thinking about the sovereignty of God. We as Christians believe that God is all-powerful. That God can do whatever God wants. There is nothing in this world that is more powerful than God.

This is why Martin Luther says of the Lord’s Prayer that God’s will is done without our praying for it; we are simply praying that God’s will be done among us. 

But does this mean that everything that happens in this world is part of God’s plan? That everything that happens in this world is just as God wills it? Absolutely not. There are clearly all sorts of things that happen in this world that are not as God wills. That has been true from the very beginning, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. 

In fact, when you think about it, much of the Bible is simply a record of what God does when God doesn’t get his way. All the way back to Adam and Eve. And Cain and Abel, and the story of Noah, and the worship of the golden calf when Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments from God, and on and on. 

Almost every story in the Bible is a story about what happens when God doesn’t get his way. 

But we keep a record of all this to remind us that God has always been at work in this world, and is always working out his purpose in this world and in our life. 

That is what it means to trust in God. We can believe in God without believing that God is involved in our world. 

When we trust in God, we don’t just believe that there is a God who created this world, or even that there is a God who created this world and gave his son to save this world. We also believe that God still cares about this world, that God is present in this world, and that everything is going to be okay. We believe, in other words, that God has got this. We trust that to be true. 

To put it another way, to trust in God means that we really believe that God is working out his purpose in this world. No matter what we might think about any particular situation in this world, we believe that God is there, working out a divine purpose. 

Everything that happens can be used by God. And all things can “work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,” as Paul reminds us. 

We believe that when we trust God. And that trust in God is what helps us to live a life free from anxiety, fear and worry.

Those Who Trust in the Lord

To go back to the prophet Jeremiah, he offers his own explanation of why it is so important to trust in the Lord above all else, and why it is a blessing to do so. Because when we do, he says, nothing can shake us. When we trust in the Lord, we are like that tree planted by water, sending out their roots by the stream. We do not fear when the heat comes. And when it does, our leaves stay green. Even in the year of the drought, Jeremiah says, we are not anxious, and we do not cease to bear fruit. 

Have you experienced any droughts in your life, metaphorically speaking? I know that I have. They are unavoidable, because life is often difficult. It has been said, and I agree, that there is no easy way to get through life. Some form of suffering will catch up to us all. 

We don’t know in advance what these trials will be, or when they will take place. But one thing is for sure: if we are going through life trusting in something other than God, we will be in trouble when the tough times hit. On the other hand, if we are going through life trusting in God above all else, then there is no drought, no challenge in life, that will completely wipe us out.

How to Deepen Our Trust in God

Okay. But, with that in mind, I think it is important to ask, how? How do we deepen our trust in the Lord? How do we make sure that we are like the tree planted by the stream? 

Are there things that we can do to transplant ourselves, or to deepen our roots? And the answer is yes. God has given us things that we can do to deepen our trust in God. 

And a chief one of those things is what we are doing right now – worshiping God, spending time in prayer and in reading God’s Word. This is one of the tried-and-true ways that our faith and trust in God is deepened and strengthened.This is why remembering the Sabbath day, and keeping it holy, is so important. Because when we do this, it has the effect of deepening our trust, and strengthening our faith. And along with weekly worship, our daily prayers and devotions are also very important. 

Our psalm today (Psalm 1) also offers the image of the tree planted by streams of water, and says that to be like this tree, we should meditate on God’s teaching day and night. Spend a little time every day in God’s word. This is one of the fundamental ways to send our roots to the stream of God’s grace. Through daily prayer and meditation on God’s word, and through weekly worship. 

The Gift of Christian Community

And along with these, Martin Luther lifted up one other spiritual practice that can deepen our faith and our trust in the Lord: He called it “the mutual conversation and consolation of brothers and sisters.” In other words, fellowship with other Christians. 

Getting together with our fellow Christians is an important way to care for our faith. Some trees grow better together. And they don’t even have to be the same type of tree. They can protect each other and support each other. Forests are great places for trees to grow. But alone in a field can be a difficult place for a tree to grow. 

And that’s true for us, too. We need each other. Our faith and trust in the Lord deepens and strengthens when we spend time with our fellow Christians. 

This is why Jesus spent a good part of his time on earth gathering people together, forming community, and laying the foundation for the church. Jesus knew the simple truth: we are not strong enough on our own. We need each other.

It is not always easy to be part of a community like the church. We have our differences. But it is always worth it. It is God’s plan for us, and God’s plan is always consistent with what is best for us. 

Trust Even When We Struggle to Believe

Have you ever struggled to trust in the Lord? If so, you are not alone. And what you can do whenever you struggle is what you are doing right now. Show up here, to worship and pray and sing and listen to the Lord. Even if you aren’t sure whether all of this matters. Faith means trusting that it does, even when you’re not sure. 

The writer Anne Lamott reminds us that: 

“The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty.” 

“Certainty,” she goes on to say, “is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.”

The devil was certain that God existed, but did not trust in the Lord. We can trust in the Lord, even when we struggle to believe. That is the nature of faith. And that is our invitation today. To trust in the Lord. 

Or, as Proverbs puts it: 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.” Doing this, Proverbs goes on to say, “will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.”

Why? Because you will be like that tree planted by the water, sending out its roots by the stream. The tree that does not fear when the heat comes, and whose leaves shall stay green. The tree that is not anxious, even in the year of the drought, and does not cease to bear fruit. 

Blessed are all who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 

Lord, help us to trust you, now and always. Amen.