August 5 – Tree Planted by the Water
Jeremiah 17:8: For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Hot sunbeams like arrows slay vegetation and wilt green trees. Tough prickly shrubs thrive on lonely wastelands where no one wants to go. On the other side, lush places always have subterranean underground springs flowing, and plants growing near rivers flourish and bloom.
There are two kinds of people on Earth. One clings to Earth and things. Their hearts are bound by material goods, position, power, money etc. This goes to excess cravings that they cannot control. Such people are disabled from discerning what is good and pure and their judgment is distorted because of greed. This is when people steal, lie, and kill for their comforts and desires and ambitions. Our visible diurnal sphere is temporarily. Things shift in life. The economy climate changes, nations change ties with each other, governments fall and rise, disaster may take our loved ones. If we lean on these and they fall, we too fall down like tumbling bricks!
We have to choose between life and death, the eternal and the temporal. If our object of trust is God, then we are safe, planted by rivers of Living Water. This Water nourishes our souls, heals us and delivers us. This Water flows from the throne of God.Revelation 22:1: Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” On Earth today, that River of Life flow to us through the Holy Spirit.
Our spirit’s compass always points to God as the natural place for us to root and grow in. Until we find our rest in our Creator, we are restless and wandering over the Earth. We try to get our fulfillment through many things, but in time, we will become like that prickly dry shrub in the wilderness, dying out with no graces. Angry, revengeful, full of unfilled desires and hatred. Such people cannot see when good cometh because the compass in their spirits turned away from God. They may receive a form of goodness which will fade away one day. Even if God’s goodness surrounds them, it cannot enter them because the compass in their spirits reject Him.
Those who love God have their roots deep into Him, drawing from Him the River of Life. They are filled with peace because the dew of the Holy Spirit saturates them. They do not have gnawing worries, do not receive stabbing fears or panic attacks. If troubles come, they cannot enter them, but sweep over their surfaces and are driven away. They are so strong that nothing shakes them, cool and glowing within.
Today, may we be planted by Rivers of Water to grow fruits of the spirit. Then we will be planted in the House of the Lord and flourish in God’s courts. Our locations are important. Choose to be in the Holy Spirit, the Living Water where we can grow green and fruitful every single day of our lives!
Rita F. Kurian
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