"For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit." -Jeremiah 17:8 (NKJV)
Near my house stand very tall spruce trees. These trees have many branches, and the sum of their weight must be incredibly heavy.
One evening, as I observed the trees, I marveled. I thought, "To hold all those heavy branches, those tree trunks must be very strong."
On another evening, it was storming very hard. I again thought, "Those tree trunks must be very strong to withstand the wind."
A couple of seasons later, there was a bad blizzard. Still, the trees overcame. I thought again, "Those tree trunks must be very strong!"
In the Bible, Jeremiah wrote about believers being like trees that spread out their roots and do not fear, are not anxious, and do not cease from yielding fruit.
When we are pressed every day, are we strong? Do we remain standing if we are pressed by many issues? Do we remain standing? Jeremiah tells us the secret of a tree's strength: "planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river."
Jesus said to a Samaritan woman, "But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14, NKJV).
The Apostle Paul said, "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:6–7, NKJV).
Remember, we know we need God every day, but when those additional challenges come into our lives-sometimes more than one at a time-they can be overwhelming. Let's remain rooted in Christ.
Ernie (Oji-Cree) is a high school principal and lives with his wife, Mary, on Kistiganwacheeng First Nation (Garden Hill, Manitoba). He is a preaching elder at Garden Hill Evangelical Fellowship, and has served on the NEFC Board.
From Council Fire, Vol. 3. To enjoy more devotional thoughts from Indigenous writers, get your copies of one, two, or all three volumes of Council Fire. See https://intertriballife.org/store/ to order.
