Jeremiah 17:5-10

5 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.

6 

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.

7 

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

    whose confidence is in him.

8 

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.”

9 

The heart is deceitful above all things

    and beyond cure.

    Who can understand it?

10 

“I the Lord search the heart

    and examine the mind,

to reward each person according to their conduct,

    according to what their deeds deserve.”

Message Notes

Sin doesn’t stay in the heart.

It migrates to the altar.

You can still go through the motions of worship and never actually encounter God.

The issue is not just sin.

The issue is trust.

Whatever you trust your heart will follow.

Misplaced trust will make you miss what God is doing right in front of you.

Trust determines where your roots go.