Shrubs, Trees, and Trust Issues: A Root-Level Reflection
Jeremiah 17:5-8 offers a vivid comparison that caught my attention: a person who trusts in human strength versus one who relies on something deeper, described here as trust in the Lord. Whether or not you share Jeremiah's worldview, the contrast paints a compelling picture.
The first person is described as being like a stunted shrub in the desert. They live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. It’s a pretty bleak image. This isn’t someone who is just having a tough time—it’s someone who has rooted their life in something that can’t sustain them. They’re isolated, dried out, disconnected.
The second person is compared to a tree planted by a riverbank. Their roots reach deep into the water. Even in heat or drought, the tree keeps producing fruit. It has what it needs to survive difficult seasons. It’s a stable, resilient image.
Digging Into the Roots
What interests me here is the role of the roots. Both people might face the same heat or drought, but only one has the underground connection to keep going. That idea raises questions for me: What are we rooting ourselves in? What assumptions, relationships, or habits do we draw from when life gets hard? And do those things hold up under pressure?
In a modern context, trusting in "mere humans" might look like placing all our hopes in political leaders, career success, or even personal relationships. These aren’t bad things in themselves, but maybe they can’t carry the weight we sometimes put on them. When they inevitably shift or fail, it can feel like our whole foundation is gone.
Build Your Own River System
On the other hand, the tree by the river seems to represent something steadier—not immune to stress, but less reactive to it. What counts as a "river" in our lives today? For some, it might be a consistent personal ethic, a grounding practice like journaling or meditation, or a commitment to a set of values that aren’t dependent on external validation.
This passage presents a choice. It asks us to consider what sustains us over the long haul. Not just when everything is going smoothly, but especially when the heat comes and the rain stops. What kind of root system am I building, and will it hold when the weather changes?