“But the person who trusts in the Lord will be blessed. The Lord will show him that he can be trusted. He will be strong, like a tree planted near water that sends its roots by a stream. It is not afraid when the days are hot; its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year when no rain comes; it always produces fruit.”
-Jeremiah 17:7-8
Have you ever watched nature as each season changes? I’m sure you’ve marveled at the fall colors on the trees or took pictures of beautiful flowers in the summer. Maybe you’ve watched as winter battered the trees outside. But have you really stopped to think about it? This last winter I really noticed something about the bare trees I saw on my commute to work each day. There are many along one of our roads and I’ve seen them a thousand times, but I happened to pay more attention this last winter season. It’s amazing how intricately each tree is made and how many branches intertwine with each other forming a beautiful image. As bare as the tree is now, how beautiful it will be when the leaves again begin to bloom and fill each branch. Then I watched as spring approached and the trees around me began to get their new buds and just like that our road was again a forest full of greens.
Yes, most of nature is inanimate objects incapable of feeling like we do and God created the trees and flowers to do what they do each season but I can still find a lesson from creation. No matter what the trees endure, battered by wind, frozen by snow, wet with rain or heat from the sun they still grow and stand firm. Jeremiah tells us that no matter what comes our way good or bad we need to stand firm in our trust. Just like the roots of a tree planted deep in the ground we need to put our roots deep in Jesus. We are also God’s creation just like nature and God has a purpose for each of us like He does the trees. In all seasons of life, we need to trust God as we wait for Him to show us that purpose and as we wait for Him to fulfill His promise. Stand firm daily in Jesus just as the trees stand firm.
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