ARE YOU CURSED OR BLESSED?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.”

“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.”

Jeremiah 17:5-8

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Are you cursed or blessed in life?

Maybe you have your own ideas about making that determination but none of them matter when it comes right down to it because the Lord Himself has declared what will lead a person to either be cursed or blessed and it all comes down to their faith approach in life.

Let’s first look at what would lead a person to end up with a cursed life.

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.” Jeremiah 17:5-6

Notice that this isn’t a complicated or complex matter to sort out. If one places their trust in anything of this world - drawing their strength, wisdom, and inspiration from mere flesh while turning their hearts away from the Lord – they will find themselves cursed.

So what does a cursed life look like?

Again, the Lord tells us.

Think about a bush in the wasteland, dry and frail as it tries to dwell in parched places. Mere life is a daily struggle and prosperity is not in sight. Hope is fleeting and the future looks bleak if not downright scary. Death seems closer than life and in extreme cases of despair, more welcome.

Doesn’t seem like a life anyone should choose to live and yet so many do. They did in Old Testament days and they are still doing so today, choosing to live cursed lives when the chance to change those lives to lives that are blessed is right before them. All they need to do is to commit themselves to a change in where they direct their faith.

We know this because the Lord tells us what a blessed life looks like and how one gets to it. Look at these words from our passage:

“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.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

If you want to be blessed in life, you have to trust in the Lord and place your full confidence in Him. It really is the truest expression of faith in the One who made us and saves us through His grace, mercy, and love. And why would we even think about placing our hope in anything else because the Lord can do all things. Nothing is beyond the work of His almighty hands. Nothing is impossible when we turn to Him with our needs. He will always be there for us and work things out in accordance with His will and way for our lives.

Now contrast the life of one who is blessed with the life of the one who is cursed.

Instead of a bush in the wastelands, a blessed person is likened to a tree planted by the water with roots extended into the stream. The life giving waters of the stream represent the very life giving waters of life we find when we stay connected to the Lord, the One who is likened to the vine and His people the branches in the scriptures (John 15:1-8). Connected to the vine, we bear fruit and enjoy lives that are fruitful. Apart from Him we wither and die, like a branch separated from the vine.

A blessed person need not fear trouble and adversity when it comes like the tree rooted by the stream. He or she has blessed assurance that the Lord is with him or her, ever providing for whatever their needs are so that they can still bear fruit, even when the droughts of life come upon them.

In other words, a blessed person experiences fruitfulness from the Lord in good and bad times.

And so I go back to the question that serves as this devotion’s title:

Are you cursed or blessed in life?

Use the guidelines from the word of God to answer and if you are in the cursed category, I implore you to commit yourself to change today, turning back to the Lord in faith and trust so that He can turn your life from wasteland to fruitfulness.

Only He can do it.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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