river trees

Jeremiah 17

7 "Blessed are those who trust in the LORD

& have made the LORD their hope & confidence.

8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,

with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat

or worried by long months of drought.

Their leaves stay green,

& they never stop producing delicious fruit.

This is another passage in the Bible that I feel like God has given me to hold on to during this year of 2016.

It's all about trust with God – we either trust Him, or we don't.

Drought has always been a problem in Israel.

It's just in that arid area of the Near East that rain has always been problematic.

Sometimes it will rain, the harvest comes in, & all is well.

Other times, the rains are iffy or non-existent, & there's famine.

So the Jews would have understood immediately what Jeremiah was talking about because they saw that example of a tree planted by a river in their everyday lives.

These river trees had a pretty secure thing going in a very environmentally insecure place.

If we trust the Lord to handle our lives, then it would seem that these 2 verses say we are in a secure place in a very insecure world?

If a river tree is next to a river, the natural tendency is to put down roots that go very deep so as to soak up the maximum amount of water.

If we trust God, it would follow that we would sink the roots of our insecurities into Him & draw strength from Him?

River trees have a constant access to life-giving water – so when drought or or brutal heat come along, these trees manage to go through it because they have a continual source of well being through their root system.

So it's not a stretch to say that if we trust the Lord in everything, we are able to withstand hard times & the brutal acts of others?

And not only do river trees go through tough times well, they continue to produce fruit - & not only just passable fruit – we're talking fruit that is outstanding.

And so, it would follow that if we trust God, we not only will walk through tough, tough times with grace & certainty, but we our lives will bear fruit for Him - & not just regular fruit, but pretty sweet fruit?

How many of us are in a drought right now?

Or maybe parched by life?

Or perhaps being burned by others or situations in our lives?

These two verses are for me & for you today.

It's what we can hold on to, for today, or for a while.