“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
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.”
-Jeremiah 17:7-8
We have two giant tulip poplar trees in our back yard. The other day, a friend told me that the roots of a tulip poplar reach as far down into the earth as the branches reach to the sky! My mind was blown, and I immediately thought of this verse because during these hot summer months in Nashville, many of the green leaves turn yellow and drop to the ground, kind of like Fall in Summer. We were worried the trees were sick at first, but then we just learned that they are letting go of what they cannot sustain with less water and more heat in the summers.
I love the promise in this verse. If I can trust in the Lord and find my confidence in Him, I’ll become like a tree planted by the water, not fearing when heat comes, evergreen with no worries, and even in a YEAR of drought… still bearing much fruit. I want to be like this so much, grounded and rooted in the running current of love and hope and light that are limitless, and still flourishing even in the heat and dry spells. I ended up drawing a picture of a big tree with a swing in it next to a river. I drew the branches and leaves reaching up and the roots reaching DEEP down into the water. I asked God to make me the kind of person/tree someone could put a swing in :)
And you know what? Whenever I show up to work feeling FAR less than adequate for the job, whenever I am feeling insecure or like I’m “not enough”, it helps so much to lift my eyes to the One who is trustworthy beyond measure. When I do this, I gain confidence like crazy because I know that no matter what I do or don’t do, I am beloved and held by God. If we can take our eyes off of ourselves and look into the face of the One who made us and loves us, it changes everything. Worries begin to slide off of our shoulders, fear of the future, even when things get hard, feels unnecessary because we’re reminded that Love will be with us every step of the journey. I just simply forget this a lot of days.
Lord, help me find my hope and confidence in You, not in my own strength or giftings or wisdom, but in Your steady love and light. Help me to be like a tree planted by a river.
What nourishes your soul and keeps you grounded? God’s word has definitely done both for me, and I hope that as we gather here every Friday in this little corner of the internet, that you find some nourishment from God’s word too.