Recently while catching up with my parents, my dad told me about the humanistic and atheist chaplain that was elected unanimously at the University of Harvard. Purposely leaving out names to protect the innocent, I was completely intrigued. The titles “Chaplain” and “Humanistic Atheist” seem to entirely oppose each other and sent me on a hunt. What I found was eye opening to say the least, yet brought much clarity to the times we are living in.
If you don’t know what humanism is I encourage you to do a little study as it will bring much understanding to what you see in the news and media today. Humanism is defined by the dictionary as “an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.” The reason I am bringing attention to this subject is because of what the Lord spoke to my heart in a time of morning devotion. I’ve had the Lord speak to me in October and into the winter months on what to expect for the New Year but until now, had never had Him speak to me about the months counting down to the end of the year. He said, “Jeremiah 17:5-8 holds importance and will give peace.” He continued, “These verses are specifically for the end of the year and moving forward!”
Before I get into Jeremiah 17, I want to bring out a thought on the definition of humanism. I underlined two phrases above that I want you to notice as I believe they hold truth to the season and era we have stepped into. It is both “human thought” and “human way” that have plagued mankind from the beginning when they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city…” Genesis 11:4.
Isaiah 55:7-8 reads, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him RETURN to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord.” These verses are not to place distance between mankind and its creator as distinctive superiority, but rather to give an invitation to rise to a heavenly reality and live from a greater perspective. These verses, preached in times past, are no longer predictive precautions but rather fulfilled prophecies. I believe Psalms 2:1-4 (TPT) clearly illustrates the mindset that the world is no longer hiding but instead is arrogantly declaring. It reads, “How dare the nations plan a rebellion. Their foolish plots are futile! Look at how the power brokers of the world rise up to hold their summit as the rulers scheme and confer together against Yahweh and His Anointed King, saying: Let’s come together and break away from the Creator. Once and for all let’s cast off these controlling chains of God and His Christ! God-Enthroned merely laughs at them; the Sovereign One mocks their madness!”
There is a silent pandemic spreading…
…with an unrestricted speed that pushes back from all that is true and righteous and clings to the “I will of self.” It is the anthem of the antichrist spirit that is in the hearts of the disobedient and sang by the deceived.
With that said I want to bring you back to Jeremiah 17 and the emphasis that the Lord placed in my heart concerning it. I believe the answers we seek are tucked in these verses along with hope that is readily able to produce the miraculous that we were created to live in.
Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NKJV) reads, “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. 6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” I encourage you to take time to meditate on these verses. The theme in these verses is trust. Trust is a topic that can be studied endlessly in the Bible, but the simplest definition that I use is “absolute dependency in God.” A pastor friend said this concerning the time we are living in, “Financially do what you can, but in the end, it will be about trust in God—Believing.”
Every area of your life can be stewarded, managed, and educated to produce maximum output and results, but the finished product of your life will not be by human might or power, but by the Spirit of the Lord. I believe this is a word to encourage and give foresight to those who have ears to hear. There is no secret sauce or formula to be exempt from that which is coming on the world. Instead, it takes simple and childlike faith to place complete adherence and reliance on the Word of God, and simply allow Him to cause you to be a tree planted by refreshing waters with your roots going deep in Him with green leaves and limbs bearing fruit in fearful times and parched lands. God has got you all the way to the end, trust Him!