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February 7, 2022

Trust the Paradox

Brandan Robertson   |   Read Jeremiah 17:5-6

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Lectionary Week
February 7–13, 2022
Scripture Overview

God wants us to be rooted firmly in our faith. Jeremiah contrasts those who put their trust in themselves with those who trust in God. The latter are like healthy trees with deep roots and a constant water supply, never in danger of drying up or dying. The psalmist uses the same image to describe those who meditate on God’s teachings. Thus, as you do these daily readings and reflect on them, you are sinking deep roots into fertile soil. Agricultural imagery is continued in Paul’s letter. Paul describes Jesus Christ risen in the flesh as the first fruit, meaning that he is the first of many who will be resurrected. In Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, worldly success is not necessarily an indication of God’s blessing.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

Read Jeremiah 17:5-10. Examine your heart. Do you place your trust in “mere mortals” or in the Lord?
Read Psalm 1. How do you seek to meditate on God’s Word day and night?
Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-20. How has your understanding of the resurrection of the dead changed your living?
Read Luke 6:17-26. How do you understand the paradoxes of Jesus’ blessings and woes?

Respond by posting a prayer .

Jeremiah 17:5-6

5 The LORD proclaims: Cursed are those who trust in mere humans, who depend on human strength and turn their hearts from the LORD. 6 They will be like a desert shrub that doesn’t know when relief comes. They will live in the parched places of the wilderness, in a barren land where no one survives.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

Faith often requires us to trust in a perspective other than our own, which is an incredibly hard thing to do. It often asks us to suspend our rational judgment for a moment and trust that our Infinite Creator has a much better grasp of our situation than our finite...

God, help me not to rely on my own perspective but to have the faith and courage to trust that your ways are higher than mine. Amen.


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