Life in Pictures - Are You The Tree!

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (AMP)

“Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord

And whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord.

“For he will be [nourished] like a tree planted by the waters,

That spreads out its roots by the river;

And will not fear the heat when it comes;

But its leaves will be green and moist.

And it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought

Nor stop bearing fruit.

Little did Jeremiah know that he was talking about you! You are a tree drinking up the water of the Word and the Spirit, producing leaves that are green and lucious. The branches are so heavy with sweet, juicy fruit that they almost touch the ground.

There are people so weak, sick and frail crawling on their hands and knees under those branches, having only enough strength to position their hands under each piece of produce to catch as they fall into their palms. As they put the delicacies to their lips, the succulent liquid drips down their chins, reviving strength and allowing them to hope to see another day.

What the tree needs is the water provided by God Himself. The fruit that is produced on a tree is never for the sake of the tree, but for those who desperately need each piece. The fruit is called (Gal. 5:22, 23)

• ove, joy, peace,

• patience, kindness, goodness,

• faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

There is another group of people that don’t crawl on the ground but rather climb up into your tree. They are your family members, co-workers, neighbors and anyone who knows you better than casual acquaintances. They are looking for the same fruit just mentioned, but the higher they go, the less ripe is the harvest. They tug, squeeze and treat you harshly, even breaking some of your branches, trying to pick off of you what they think they need. Isn’t it amazing how some parts of us are easy to give away without even thinking about it, and giving away to others that can be so difficult.

The secret is to not even think about what you give away, but rather the people receiving what they need through you. You are actually giving away life whether easily or with difficulty. The fruit is God’s gift produced for others. But He has reserved the crystal clear water just for you. In it is His own life. Drink of it freely.

Karen Mielke