Faith in myself?

Jeremiah 17: 5-8
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.

8 He 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.”

You know... sometimes when Pastor Steve is preaching I feel like he wrote his sermon just for me. Well... I think God must have His hand in www.YouVersion.com because Jeremiah 17 was for me today! This was a passage on the list for my daily reading plan today.

Has anyone ever told you to have faith in yourself when you are up against some tough odds? I know I have said it plenty of times.

So... things are trucking along at a pretty good pace. Things are going well, kids are behaving, bills are being paid and then it happens... You know what it is. LIFE. I know. What was life circumstances thinking when it had to go put its ugly head in the middle of your beautifully orchestrated plans? Now you have struggle, fights, pain, and hurt. Hmmm... What to do? What to do? I know! You can fix it. You have a plan. You have faith in your own abilities. Right?

Well... Think again! Jeremiah 17:5 says cursed is the one who depends on flesh for his strength! What? I shouldn't depend on my own abilities? Didn't God give me these abilities and talents? Yes, however... your abilities and talents are useless if you are not fully depending on God as your complete strength. Trying to use your abilities without the guidance and strength from God will have you running on a treadmill. Yeah, you are running and you are sweating, but you really aren't getting anywhere.

I personally want to be like the tree planted by the water. I want to have no fears when life's troubles come my way. I want to always "bear fruit" for the Lord even when my life is in turmoil. The only way I can do that is to trust in the Lord... not by having faith in myself!