Plants and Rivers

    

     I am not a plant lady much to my chagrin.  I desire to be an avid horticulturist who has flowing green leaves twisting all over her house.  My good friend Tori is said enviable plant-lady.  Her home feels like an Eden oasis as soon as you walk through her doors.  Colorful pots overflow with every shade of green, lush foliage.  Her living, kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, and every window sill boast a beautifully curated set of thriving plants that fill her home with life and clean air. My few plastic pots randomly scattered throughout my home deliver semi-healthy greenery that become wilted frequently until I notice and frantically start the soak of their bone-dry dirt in my sink.  Only now I over-water and watch in dismay as all their leaves turn yellow and fall off.  **sigh**

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1Blessed is the man^a

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2but his delight is in the law^b of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

3He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

4The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

6for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

    As I was reading Psalm 1 this morning the image its author paints of a well nourished tree by the river reminded me of my sad attempts at indoor plant life.  And I can't help but wonder how many of us are like that with our spiritual life.  We only start to notice it once it's parched of all living water- dry and withering and then we frantically drown ourselves with an over-zealous attempt to revive our neglected walk only to see all of our leaves turn yellow and drop.  We get discouraged and we put away our bibles wondering what went wrong.  

    But what does the Psalmist say about this tree.  It is planted (a permanent placement) by the river.  The living waters are always there, nourishing and giving life.  It is a steady stream.  There are no extremes of drought and flood.  Just a constant trickling of refreshing water.  

    We see rivers in the perfection of Eden.  

      Gen 2:10  10A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

And we see them again in the New Heavens and Earth.  

        Revelation 22 1Then the angel^a showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life^b with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

  Amy Gannet states it beautifully-  "The person of faith is not just like a tree, but like a tree planted by streams of water. The life of the Ideal Israelite is like the nation of Israel who lived in the presence of God, with a stream running right through the center of town. Abundance was her inheritance and daily experience as she lived her life before her Savior.The Ideal Israelite is the person who is rooted like a tree - they are steadfast and secure. They are like the righteous, trusting man of Jeremiah’s prophecy who puts his trust in God alone. As a result, they are unmovable, unsinkable, unshakable."

    So dear friends, as we end this 2022 year and we look forward into the next let's pray and ask the Lord to empower us and encourage us to be trees planted by the life-giving river.  Let's look at our habits that draw us away from a consistent watering so that we may grow deep roots this next year so that we are steadfast and secure because of the God we serve.