Firmly Planted

A couple weeks ago I got a call on Saturday from one of our church members, John.

“Hey man, do you want to go floating on Monday?”

John had a couple kayaks that he had bought several years ago, but never had gotten them out on the water.  He brought them to church one summer as props for VBS and after ogling over them for a while, he said that we would go one day.  Monday was finally going to be that day.

“Sure!  Let’s do it!!”

A couple days later John and I found ourselves on the Nolin river right by Gilead Baptist Church floating on one of the nicest mornings I had seen in quite a while. 

As we followed the river through many dips and turns, we saw some wildlife, marveled at rock formations and notice the many beautiful trees that hung over the river, providing us shade.

John said, “Isn’t it amazing how some of these trees can have some of the root structure washed out and yet they still grow and hold tight to the bank?”

“I think it is probably a testament to how strong their roots really are.”

As we continued our float, I began to ponder what the Bible says about trees like these and how they related to the life of a believer.

Psalm 1 says:

1How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

The trees that we passed were a reminder that those cling to the Word of God will continue to grow no matter what the world may throw at them.

  1. These trees grow even in adversity.
    The very fact that we could see so much of these trees root structure reminded us that these trees had been through some stuff. They had seen drought and they had seen flood.  I have no doubt that pollution and liter had passed by their way.  They had seasons where they grew rapidly and times where they barely grew at all. 
    Yet they always grew and they always had to take the good with the bad.  Psalm 1 implies that the tree goes through seasons where a different tree might wither and die.  Living according to Scripture does not promise a life free from doubt, worry, stress, or hardship, but it does promise to give you all you need to endure these seasons and grow in spite of them.
  2. These trees are completely dependent on the source
    Right along with the previous point, it becomes very clear that the tree is completely dependent on the river for everything. No one had to tell the tree to dig down deep.  No one had to tell the tree that it would need a huge, complicated root structure in order to stand firm and take advantage of all the river had to offer.  It did it because it was designed to do so, and the more it grew up, the more it needed to grow down and dig deep in order to remain.
    It really is a shame that we are not as smart as trees.  We constantly need to be told that we have to dig deeper into our source of life.  We grow a little and we think we can put the Bible, prayer, and Christian community on the shelf.  We face adversity and we withdraw into ourselves instead of digging deeper into the Word of Life!  Can you imagine for a moment what would happen to a tree if it pulled its roots back into the trunk during a drought?  It would be dead in a week!!!  So why do we do it?
    We have to recognize that we NEED God, His Word, and a relationship with the Son in order to live in this life.   After that, we need to dig deep into his Word and our relationship with Him in order to get through it all.
  3. The tree uses this blessing to fulfill its purpose
    Now it may be a little self-centered on my part think that those trees’ purpose was to provide shade for me and John, but it sure was nice!!!!!
    Regardless that tree had a purpose. Perhaps the trees’ purpose was to hold the soil in place, or keep the water (and kayakers) cool & shaded, or maybe it was to provide food and shelter for animals that live near the water.  Regardless, it was not there just to suck up water and pull nutrients from the river!!!

We are the same way.  God is feeding you and growing you through His Word for a reason.  I can tell you what the reason is too!!!  You are here to make disciples.  Jesus said these words, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.” (Matt 28:19-20) Now, I cannot tell you how you’ll do that or what it will look like; you will have to discover that for yourself!  But I can tell you that it will not happen if you don’t stay rooted in God and His Word!

 

The trees on the river remind us of our need for God and our mission for God, but it also reminds us that with God we will endure until the end.  I am praying that you will “dig deep” into the Word with us at THBC!!!  God bless!