The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert, and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt that is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream, and does not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought, nor cease to yield fruit.’” 

—Jeremiah 17:5–8

The beginning of this passage sounds like doom and gloom. But as we read further, we see the Lord is actually warning us in love: “Don’t trust in man or in your own strength; don’t turn away from me. If you do that, you’re placing yourself in a desert wilderness where nothing can grow and where you will not be satisfied. Trusting in me roots you deeply, where even if circumstances, other people, or your strength fails, you will remain peaceful, secure, confident in the face of hardship, and fruitful.” 

The things of this world will leave us empty; only trusting in him will keep us nourished.

If we follow our own way, a drought will leave us withered and fruitless because we have wandered away from the source that waters our soul. 

With the Lord’s direction, the trials and troubles that come along will not shake us, because we will be rooted in God himself—the only source that sustains us.

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