Saturday, July 16, 2011

True Wisdom - Dependence on God

Thus says the Lord:

Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a barren bush in the desert that
enjoys no change of season,
But stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose hope is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.

More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, the Lord, alone probe the mind and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to his ways,
according to the merit of his deeds.

~Jeremiah 17: 5-10
~~~

O Lord, plant me in the rich soil where Your Love abides. Let me not be thrown onto the shallow path to be devoured by the evil one. Let me not fall on the rocky ground where my roots do not reach You and I whither and am scorched for lack of roots. Let me not be sown among thorns of worldly anxiety and lure of world riches which choke Your Word in my soul and keep me from bearing Your fruit.

Let me be as the tree planted beside the waters, that I may stretch out my roots deep in Your Abiding Love to reach You, the Everlasting Stream of Water, the Source of all Life. Lord, let me fear not the heat when it comes and give me no distress during the drought that I may still have green leaves and bear Your fruit.

Thank You for life and Love and Grace and all that comes our way. All is Grace. All is You. I abandon myself to Your Will. I Love You.

In Your Most Holy Name, Amen.

~~~
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the filed, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will He not much more provide for you, O you of little faith. So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.
~Matthew 7: 25 - 34


Prayer adapted from Matthew 13:1-23


Posted by Kathryn at Heart for God

4 comments:

  1. Kathryn, I absolutely love these quotes!

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  2. Hi Kathryn, we as humans have it all backwards and can learn a lot from the birds!

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  3. That is a lovely prayer and, I must say, in our scorching southwestern Missouri heat, the picture of the flowers and shade is most welcome.

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  4. Colleen, these are some of my favorite scripture passages! God really used these to speak to my heart at a silent retreat last March.

    Yes, Noreen, I think we can learn a lot from the birds ;)

    I agree, Barbara, the flowers and shade are inviting. We just returned from Texas and brought the heat up with us to South Dakota :)

    Thanks everyone for commenting!

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