Am I Blessed and Happy—Like a Tree?

Poets and Christians can be inspired by—and learn a lot from—a tree. As I pondered one of my favorites, I thought about the fruit God expects me to produce during this festival season.

As I sat in the park and looked out over the hill, my eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to the beauty of an enormous old oak tree standing there ever so stately.

Trees are truly miracles of the Creator when you consider the size many species reach at full maturity, yet each one begins life from only a small seed. Christ used this amazing fact to give a powerful word picture, when He said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).

Imagine if we had faith the size of a full-grown tree!

Trees in the Bible

Trees are a recurring theme throughout Scripture. From the very beginning in Genesis, God represented the two ways of life by the tree of life vs. the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Israel was told to preserve the trees that produced food when besieging a city in war (Deuteronomy 20:19-20). We are admonished to bear good fruit (Matthew 7:17-20). Christ even died on a tree, shedding His righteous blood so that we could be forgiven of sin (1 Peter 2:24).

The theme continues to the end of the Bible, where it speaks of the New Jerusalem: “In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2).

As I looked at that towering, majestic oak tree, I wondered how old it must be. What historical events had it lived through? How many windstorms or ice storms had it endured? Had it weathered 30 degrees below zero (this is a Wisconsin tree, mind you) and survived to reemerge full of leaves the following spring?

Thinking of all these possible (and probable) adversities, I found myself admiring and respecting this tree very much indeed.

Blessed and happy is the man

When the psalmist writes of a righteous man who does not walk in the path of sinners but delights in the law of God, he compares him to a tree—one that grows by the rivers of water and brings forth fruit in its season (Psalm 1:1-3).

Have you ever noticed how trees grow stronger and more abundantly near sources of water, especially along riverbanks? The roots are sustained by the constant source of water.

Our water source spiritually is, of course, God’s Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39). His Spirit in us then allows us to produce the fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) by which Christ said we should be known. It is also the Spirit of God that gives us the strength to weather the trials and storms of life, and keep standing year after year, like the regal aged oak I admired.

Fruit in season

I meditated on this passage in Psalm 1 to consider: Does the story of my life read like this man? Do I avoid the path of sinners, seek the counsel of the godly and delight in the law of God? Am I a tree that brings forth fruit in its season?

These are questions we can ask of ourselves at any time of the year. Not only should we take a look inward each year to prepare for the spring (in the northern hemisphere) Passover season commemorating Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, but we should also examine ourselves in anticipation of the next steps in God’s plan that are pictured by God’s fall holy days.

Am I ready to serve beside Jesus Christ as a king and a priest when He returns, pictured by the Feast of Trumpets (Revelation 11:15; 5:9-10)? Prior to keeping the Day of Atonement, I need to meditate on the magnitude of Christ’s atoning sacrifice that we have already accepted, but that is yet to be understood and appreciated by the world at large (Hebrews 9:11-12).

The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the restoration of all things under our King of Kings, administrating the perfect law of God (Isaiah 11:1-9). And finally, the amazing harvest of the Last Great Day is one of the most joyful and moving times to consider in God’s miraculous plan (Ezekiel 37:11-14).

Studying and preparing for these days spiritually is producing fruit in its season. After all, we will be blessed and happy if we do.

I am glad to say that I will be enjoying my newfound place of meditation and tree appreciation for some time to come. I thank God that He reveals Himself and His plan in the beauty of the natural things He created for us to enjoy.

Laura La Ravia is a wife, mother and member of the Beloit, Wisconsin, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. She is an avid lover of God’s creation.

See these related links:

• Like a Tree
• Bearing Fruit
• From Holidays to Holy Days: God’s Plan for You