“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.”
It is almost silly to think about now, but when we were kids, we would pair our older siblings up in our minds and have them fight it out. “My big brother can beat up your big brother!” we would say. Since I was the older brother, I couldn’t do that. I had two older sisters, and I would pair them up, even today, with just about anyone. Unhinged confidence would come out of the mouths of kids who had older brothers, and in their minds, those older brothers were like Hercules.
In Jeremiah 17, the Lord is speaking to His people, and while He is doling out some reality and punishment for the way they acted, in verses 7 and 8, God opens up and gives us a cross-section of a follower of Christ. First up is the word “Blessed.” Highly favored and set apart are the ones who put their trust in the Lord and also their confidence. The kids who had older brothers would walk around with a kind of bravado and arrogance. The only reason they did this was because of their older brother. Nothing on the playground was fearful to them because big brother had their back.
When you accepted Christ, this bravado needed some time to develop. It started by reading what God did with His people in the Bible. As it progressed, it developed into a relationship in which the Holy Spirit was speaking to you every day. Bravado in Christ. Do you have it? Or are you still at the gate of the Christian life wondering if you want to move forward?
Maybe yours is a Sunday thing. Just checking the box. “I went to church.” But Sundays come and go, and the nasty world we live in won’t let up. I’ve heard that if you’re a Christian and you’re coasting in Christ, you’re actually moving backward, just like those kids who run up escalators. They run fast and finally reach the top, but if they stop running, the escalator moves them back down the hill.
Do you want to be that confident person who seems Teflon to everything around you? Start by trusting in the Lord and putting your full confidence in Him. Verse 8 is for those who do. It says that you’re like a tree planted by the water, with roots growing toward the stream. When it gets too hot for everyone else, your leaves will always be green, full of life. Even when drought strikes the ground, you will always bear fruit and be productive. Always green. No matter what is going on above the ground, you will be rooted in Christ. You will have no fear and bear fruit in every season.
Teflon. Nothing sticks. Nothing sinks to the core. Nothing breaks the will. Nothing brings you down. You are Teflon in Christ.
If this cross-section of living appeals to you, then Christ is the only answer. Nothing else will ever come close. No matter how many times you try to mimic the outcomes with worldly things, they will never measure up to Christ. He is waiting.
Prayer: Father, I pray that we always keep our eyes on You and put our trust in You. Help me keep Your words continually on my mouth and meditate on them all day. I pray that we never let Your words leave our mouths. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Let It Go 
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