Solid Rocks and Sweet Trees

Pretty sweet group of trees, huh? Mom and I found them when we were stopped at a rest stop in the UP last week. I'm pretty sure Mom thought I'd seen a bear or something equally large and scary when I went "MOM!!! LOOK!!!!" I was amazed when I saw them, and they're much larger than the pictures make them look. I had to, in typical me fashion, gimp my way back to them and check them out up close and personal.


In the Psalms, David uses what can be vivid imagery, if we only take the time to stop and think about it.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers. (Psalms 1:1-3)

This tree (or group of trees, it's easier to say tree), is planted by streams of water. And even though it's sitting a couple feet off of the ground, it has prospered. The promise of these verses says if we make the law of the Lord our delight, and concentrating on it instead of focusing on the gazillion other things we could be, we will prosper in all we do. In the season God chooses, we will yield the fruit that He planted us to fruit. We just have to be patient and trust that He knows the right time, and that He has 'planted' us where we are for a reason.

My soul waits in silence for God only;
For my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
(Psalms 62: 5-7)

Those are probably my favorite verses of all times. These trees have made that rock their stronghold. The area around them is muddy and rather swampy (I know.. I walked through it to get back to the trees, Mom even warned me to watch for sinking sand!), yet the trees have found a firm place to grow. It sets them apart from the other trees around them, and gives them something to build themselves upon. When times are uncertain and "muddied" up, He is the rock that gives us something to stand on. In a world that sometimes seems impossible, He provides consistency and becomes our refuge.

I've thought about these trees a lot in the past week. I think they show as a Christian how we should walk... We should keep our 'roots' in the water, the Living Water. Spending time with God, and drinking from His word. We should also place Him as our rock, to be our refuge in hard times, so that and glory we receive rests on Him!

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.