Blessed is the one…
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.
When Rebekah and I lived in Florida (and it still sounds strange, talking about Florida in the past tense) it wasn’t very difficult to grow stuff. The best example was the 10-inch pencil-sized cypress Rebekah’s mamma gave us when we first moved in; it pretty much became a Giant Redwood within a couple of years.
The challenge in Tampa was always more about not growing stuff: not growing trees in the gutters; not losing your mailbox in an outbreak of Philodendrons; not growing mold in the house; not growing shrubs on the window-sills.
We’d go on vacation for a couple of weeks, return home, and just about have to hack our way through a jungle to get to the front door. Many of Rebekah’s plants didn’t even need soil, there was enough moisture in the air to keep them quite happy.
HOLY-LANDS: But in the Middle East, where the Bible-narrative plays out, water is at a premium. The Sea of Galilee, for example, is pretty much the fresh-water supply for Israel. Wars have been fought over interruptions to the Jordan River. Wars have been fought over something as rudimentary as a reliable well.
If you plant a tree in Israel, you had better know for sure where the water is. Otherwise the tree is simply going to shrivel up and die.
This was the reality the psalmist had in mind when he penned the words at the top of this page. Someone who takes in God’s Word on a regular basis, someone who takes pleasure from knowing God, someone who meditates, contemplates, ruminates, deliberates, cogitates, reflects; that person is connected to the nourishing, refreshing well of truth and wisdom in the same way that a tree (like the one at the top of this page, planted by Abraham’s Well) draws life from a reliable source of water.
And it’s not just about visiting the well. It’s about planting ourselves there; it’s about putting down roots in God’s good Word.
Kind of like the first part of our mission statement here at WFPC. “Rooted in Christ.”
Delighting in the Word – DEREK
AMEN!!
That’s where I find myself today Pastor. I’m trying to make a difference and it requires words of wisdom shared with folk who are, it seems, constantly going through stuff, smile. Nice and short read, but with a punch at the end. Good medicine for me today. Thanks for the reminder. Have a blessed day.
Thanks for the encouraging word. I’m not a pastor – just a regular guy who probably thinks too much!
Well said Derek! This one resonates with me, not sure why. Probably because it says in words what I find difficult to explain. Or maybe because it is simple enough for my simple brain to understand. :).
Thanks, Jim. My prayer is – always – that God will use my writing to help others on their journey. It’s been that way since the devotions I shared in our old Kaleidoscope SS class at Trinity! 🙂