Life's Daily Challenge Devotional

Established life

“...Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river and will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to the fruit of his doings," Jeremiah 17:5-10.

Dear stable one,

Every person wants to have an established life. Certainly, this is something that God promises all of us. Many people, however, are not willing to live by the individual disciplines necessary to allow the blessings of God to flow. Our heart, our footsteps, our character, our words, our plans, and our thoughts must all be established in Christ. This can only happen if we make the Word of God the center of everything we do. It must be so engrained in our lives that our faith in it overrides our dependence in the tangible.

Jeremiah 17 has very strong words for us. Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength. His heart has departed from the Lord. He will be like a tumbleweed blowing this way and that with the circumstances of life. He will not see good when it comes

Seems severe, doesn't it? Yet think how many Christians you know who are living under the bondage of a curse because of their misplaced trusts! Jeremiah 17 also says that the heart of man is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things. We build our lives on little things other than God's Word. We push its counsel to the peripheral of our lives until we think we really need it. Sometimes we are convicted that more of our life should be surrendered, but then the extravagances and conveniences of our society move in and blind us once more. Our heart deceives us into believing everything is OK

Matthew 7 talks about a wise man and a foolish man. Both men heard the Word of God. Both men faced the storms. One man's house stood and one fell. The difference was that one built His life on the Word, the other used the Word if and when it was convenient to him

In the days ahead a life established on God's Word will be more critical than it appears to be right now. The Bible prophesied that great storms were coming. It also says that the storms will begin in the house of God (1Peter 4:17-19). That's hard for us to imagine in the midst of all our comfort and security. Noah was established because he built his boat before the storm. He looked foolish and was mocked, refusing the comforts of his world to fulfill God's specifications to the letter. It saved him, his life and the life of his family. You will look foolish too, refusing to lean upon the arm of worldly flesh in order to build your life wholly upon God's Word. In the end you will be established. Now's the time to build your boat. It will be too late when the storm comes!