I spent my spring break at church. I attended a church conference that quite literally made me sit with Jesus—who has always been right beside me. Who has never left me in my brokenness, fears, doubts, and anxieties, and He was always on time. It is one thing to walk in the fire and burn in it, and another to walk in that same fire and see the hand of Jesus reaching for you, grabbing the hem of His robe, and watching that fire disappear. “If He dresses the lilies with beauty and splendor, how much more will He clothe me?”
Something that stuck with me that one of the preachers said was, “May I be like a tree planted by the water.” A tree planted by the water can often live longer than a tree planted elsewhere. A tree planted by the water does not have to fear droughts and will always be green beyond imagination and never wither. Do you know the Bible verse about Jesus being our living water? What about the verses about us being the branches, and Jesus being the vines. I desire to be like the trees planted by the water, without fearing what I cannot feel, because it is always there, the water has never left me, I grew accustom to the water— Jesus being my water.
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”
Psalm 1:1-3
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8
Here is the thing, I think we are trees. Let me explain, among the words written for us from the Lord, you will find the word, seed. You share the word of God with someone and a seed is planted into their heart. When those seeds are planted, with Christ, those seeds blossom into what they are meant to be, TREES. But why a tree? Because Jesus who is often described as living water— that our soul thirsts for—is the source that a tree needs to grow and bear fruit. We long for this water, we yearn for this water. This water is our home— our life source. To bear fruit means to show the fruits of the spirit, which are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. One cannot bear fruit if not connected to the source, and a tree cannot bear fruit if not receiving its big three, air, sun, and water. I want to be so planted in Christ that I won’t need anything else. “Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13 I pray that His love and kindness will always find you when you need it.
I think that is what I am learning every single day, that I need to actively seek the Lord, because that is all He wants from me. He saved me from who I used to be. He washed me clean and made me whole again. I am crying as write this, I am so thankful. He made me new and made into a person that I love so much, and I never thought I would see this day. He is my best friend—I love Him so much.😭
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” John 15: 4-6
with lovingkindness,
johanna c 💌