What is the significance of trees in the Bible? How do trees grow? They grow through a lot of sunlight, water, and care. I’m amazed at how God has created nature.
My Uncle Lyndon was a man connected to nature. He was a preacher and during his time in ministry he would go out to the deer blind and just talk to the Lord.
He was passionate about hunting and the outdoors. Yet when he went hunting it wasn’t always about what he shot, many days he would just go out to the deer blind and have a Bible study.
May we do the same. May we all make time with the Lord.
Psalms 1:1-3 tells us, “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. 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.”
How can we have great fruit? We must delight in God’s word. We must stay connected to God.
Stuart Strachan Jr. once shared a great illustration about a man named, Nicholas Herman: “His life seemed much like our own.
Nicolas had a number of jobs in his life, starting out in the military and then in the transportation industry. After that, he found work in the food service industry, serving as a short-order cook and bottle-washer.
Eventually Nicholas became deeply discouraged by his life. He spent a lot of time, like us, thinking about himself. ‘Am I saved’ was a particular question that burrowed deep into his soul.
He struggled deeply with worry, until one day when everything changed.
On that day, he was looking at a tree, not the most thrilling exercise, but something occurred to him: what makes a tree flourish is not its self-reliance, but it’s rootedness in something other than and deeper than itself.”
Nick took time to be with the Lord. In fact, he wrote a book called, The Practice of the Presence of God. This book has been read by many people.
It has become a spiritual classic. Somedays we may want God to give us revelation from Heaven, and somedays God gives us revelation from trees.
The Psalmist once wrote down, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalms 42:1-2)(NASB1995).
In our daily life, it may be difficult to pray or seek the Lord. What we need to do is to observe God’s creation.
We must seek the Lord the way the deer who is in desperate desire for the water. We need take time away and have a quite time with God.
This doesn’t mean it needs to be long or time consuming. Only five minutes by the river can quench the thirst of the deer. Prayer is meant to be often.
How often does the deer seek water? The deer will go back many times during the day.
Prayer and Bible Study are like a fresh drink of water.
God’s word will reinvigorate us.
