Cycles of Misplaced Trust
Where in your life are you uprooting injustice to plant seeds of flourishing?
Jeremiah 17:5-6
YHWH says: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the YHWH. They shall be like a shrub in the desert and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
Jeremiah speaks to a people caught in cycles of misplaced trust. Judah’s leaders had turned away from the Creator, placing their faith in political alliances and human power, rather than divine justice. Jeremiah uses vivid imagery—a desert shrub—to show how relying on unstable systems leaves us spiritually withered. This isn’t just ancient history; it’s a mirror to our world. When we trust in systems that exploit, dehumanize, or prioritize power over love, we live in a barren state.
But Jeremiah isn’t suggesting passivity. Instead, he invites us to root ourselves in the Creator’s wisdom—a wisdom that calls for justice, equity, and flourishing. Trusting in divine guidance doesn’t mean disengaging but stepping into the work of transformation with steady purpose.
Where in your life are you uprooting injustice to plant seeds of flourishing?
—Katelin Champion