During the rainy season, everything turns green. The rivers swell with water, and life seems to explode all around. Once the rains stop, everything starts to turn brown and dry up. What doesn’t change whether rain or drought are the trees near the rivers. They remain the same, even if there is no water. That is because they have sunk their roots deep to draw water. This is a perfect picture of a mature Christian who is living the blessed life.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
“The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.”
Plant Yourself
There is a recurring theme throughout Scripture. If you plant yourself near the Lord and draw from His living waters, you will live the blessed life. There is no unique formula, but the benefits are immense. Jeremiah uses the metaphor of a tree that is near a stream of water. That is a good picture of a mature disciple of Jesus Christ. They go near to where life is and draw from it.
Make the Effort
To walk in this blessing, you have to stretch out your roots towards the water. There is an effort on our part that is implicit. You are not going to be handed everything, nor will you be force-fed. There needs to be a desire on your part to grow, which means you make an effort to read your Bible, pray, go to church, and serve the needy. God offers opportunities and promises blessings, but you need to do some work.
The Blessed Life
The benefits that are part of the blessed life are incredible! You can endure when the heat gets turned up in your life. Going through a dry period? No worries because you keep producing fruit. The mark of a believer who is planted by the living waters is that there is evident growth no matter what the circumstances. The blessed life has so many facets that we don’t begin to comprehend.