Help from God Series : Part 4

Living in the Spirit :

## Positioning Yourself to Receive Divine Help

### The Principle Behind the Promise

Jeremiah 17:5–7 unveils one of Scripture's most clarifying spiritual principles — not merely about what God does, but about who receives what He gives, and why. The "curse" in verse 5 is not the Mosaic curse of the Law. It is a condition-driven outcome — a spiritual consequence that follows a particular posture of the heart.

*"Cursed is the man…"* — not because God arbitrarily condemns anyone, but because that man has positioned himself outside the flow of divine help. Three conditions define this posture.

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### Three Conditions That Cut Off Divine Help

**Trusting in Man.** This is placing ultimate confidence in human ability, systems, or influence as the source of deliverance. God uses people as channels, but never as the Source. The moment trust shifts from God to man, the channel becomes a substitute — and the supply is severed.

**Depending on the Arm of Flesh.** This is deeper than trust — it is a lifestyle of reliance. Building one's expectations and security entirely on human strength. The arm of flesh represents limitation and frailty. To anchor your life to it is to rest your weight on something that will inevitably bend.

**The Heart That Turns Away.** This is the root. Trusting man and depending on flesh are outward expressions of an inward departure. When the heart turns, divine help is not blocked because God becomes unwilling — it is blocked because the connection has been severed.

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### Three Results of a Misaligned Heart

*"He shall be like a shrub in the desert."* The shrub survives but does not flourish — a portrait of someone cut off from God's supply.

*"He shall not see when good comes."* Not the absence of good, but the inability to perceive it. Help may be present, God may be moving — but spiritual desensitization means even when help comes, it is missed.

*"He shall dwell in parched places in the wilderness."* A sustained condition — not a passing season but a habitation. A pattern of life marked by barrenness and unfruitfulness outside God's provision.

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### A Foundation That Cannot Be Skipped

A foundational truth must be firmly settled: for the believer, help comes only from the Lord. Scripture is clear — *"I will not put my trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help."* And again, *"The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord."*

It is spiritually inconsistent for a believer to look to any other source as the origin of help. Man may be a channel, but man is never the source. And yet many believers are doing exactly this — outwardly confessing God while inwardly leaning on human systems and influence. As a result, their hearts are not aligned to receive what God has already made available.

Jeremiah 17 makes this plain: the issue is never the availability of help. It is always the alignment of the heart.

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### Why a Carnal Heart Cannot Receive Spiritual Supply

God gives everything spiritually — through His Word. His promises, provision, and supply all come through spiritual means. Therefore, to receive from God, a believer must be spiritually aligned and responsive.

Spiritual things cannot be received through a carnal heart.

A carnal heart is governed by the senses, human reasoning, and self-dependence. Scripture describes it as being in enmity with God — not in open rebellion, but in quiet opposition to His ways. The conflict plays out plainly:

God says, *"Trust Me"* — the carnal mind says, *"Let me secure myself."* God says, *"Walk by faith"* — the carnal mind says, *"I will believe when I see."* God says, *"My Word is enough"* — the carnal mind reaches for visible assurance.

This internal conflict creates a barrier. God is not unwilling to help. The heart is simply not postured to receive what is being given spiritually.

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### The Blessed Man — A Contrasting Portrait

Jeremiah 17:7 introduces a divine contrast: *"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord."*

Where the cursed man trusts in man, the blessed man trusts in God. Where the cursed man depends on flesh, the blessed man makes God his expectation and source. Where the cursed man's heart turns away, the blessed man's heart is turned toward God.

The result — a life that continually experiences divine help. He is like a tree planted by the waters — stable, nourished, rooted. He does not fear when heat comes. His leaves remain green. He does not cease from yielding fruit. His life consistently manifests what God's help produces.

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### The Issue Is Positioning

A life centered on human dependence leads to dryness, blindness, and barrenness. A life rooted in trust in God leads to stability, perception, and sustained fruitfulness.

The question is never whether God helps. He does. The question is always positioning.

If help is from the Lord, and God gives help spiritually through His Word, then the believer must cultivate a spiritual heart to receive it. Anything less creates a disconnect between what God has provided and what the believer actually experiences.

The call is not merely to seek help — it is to realign the heart. Withdraw misplaced trust from man. Refuse dependence on the arm of flesh. Anchor fully in God.

Because in that place of alignment, help is not scarce. It flows.