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Blessed

             “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 17:7-8)

                Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)

                Jeremiah attributes the passage above to God. Whether it is a direct statement from God (paraphrasing David) to and through him as a prophet, or Jeremiah is paraphrasing Psalm 1:1-3 as the Word of God, I can’t tell, but the passage in Jeremiah brought the passage in Psalm to mind, even though it isn’t referenced in the notes.

                Again, blessing doesn’t necessarily mean some magical or miraculous boon appearing on our doorstep. Prospering doesn’t necessarily mean having big bucks in the bank. It could include times, but in some non-material way, the person gains some benefit. Perhaps the best of those non-material blessings is that we become better, stronger people. We like to limit God’s blessing to what we want it to be and done in the manner we choose. God doesn’t work that way.

                What these passages promise is that the one who trusts in God will be blessed to be like a tree. Many trees are long-lived, especially when given a sufficient supply of clean water. They survive heat and cold, rain, snow, and drought (partly because they’re by a stream). They provide shelter and food. In other words, the blessings given to them are translated into blessings they give. It would be reasonable for us to pray that God would bless us through others (including our enemies) and bless others (including our enemies) through us. After that, we should probably get to work doing whatever we plan to do, trusting God that He will answer in His time and way. 

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