Plant Your Faith in a Place of Trust

by Rev. Rachel Billups

“Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in God. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream” -Jeremiah 17: 7 (NIV).

Read

Jeremiah 17:7

Reflect

Travel with me to the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, chapter 17.  Jeremiah was a prophet, a messenger of God, whose job description not only included speaking to the people of God, but also serving as a prophet to the nations.  In chapter 17, he can see the impending invasion of the Babylonian empire and wants to both comfort and warn the people of God.

When we are uncertain, when we don’t know what to do, when life feels really chaotic, we trust. Now trusting God does not mean we stop taking precautions. That’s silly.  Trust is a deeper issue. We need to keep washing our hands. We need to practice physical distancing, not run around pretending that “because Jesus is on our side we are not going to get the virus”. 

Trust is faith that has said its prayers, recognizing that God held us before this virus and God will be holding us long after the virus, and that as people of faith we can live differently.  We don’t have to live in fear, be it low-grade worry or full-blown anxiety. We trust deeply that God is with us. 

We are like trees—planted close to the stream. Our roots go deep, reaching for that unseen water, empowering us toward a stronger faith, firmly grounded in the experience that God loves us, and loves others. 

If you start to become overwhelmed with anxiety, I’m inviting you to pray this simple breath prayer, “God I trust you, God I trust you.”

Respond

Lord Jesus, you did not give us a spirit of fear, but a Spirit of love, of power, and of a sound mind. Guide me today to plant my faith in a place of trust. Lord Jesus, I trust you. Amen.

Remember

Where did you witness yourself or others trusting God today?

Comment below or use a journal to record how God is with you each day of this journey.