Growing up I attended a church camp every summer. During camp one summer I decided to sign up for the kids choir. One of the songs we learned and later sang in front of our peers went like this:
I want to be like a tree
Planted by the water
Trusting in the Father to help me grow
I want to be like a tree
Planted by the water
Trusting in the name of the Lord
The deeper the roots go
The better the fruits grow
The blessings pour out for all to see
The deeper the roots grow
The more my life shows
That Jesus is the Lord of me
Psalm 1:2-3 says:
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither- whatever he does prospers.”
(emphasis added)
When I was in elementary school, my 4th grade teacher gave us trees to plant. I had never been given a tree before or assigned the task of planting one. I went home and immediately planted my tree in the backyard and then waited for it to grow. As it became larger, my mum told me that it was a tree that could bear fruit. I couldn’t wait for it to grow big and strong so I could eat its fruits. Years passed and the tree continued to grow. Finally, after I realized that the tree would never bear fruit, I asked my mum what happened. She reminded me that if we wanted it to bear fruit we would have had to prune it in the beginning stages of its growth.
This past year I realized that I am a tree. I have been planted near the living water (Jesus) and I have grown. One of the hardest things about growth is the process of pruning. It is painful and exhausting but when we yield to the master gardener (God) and allow him to cut away at the branches of insecurity, pride, lack of identity and so much more, we see that he really does know what’s best for us and we begin to bear fruit.
It’s all about surrender. Complete and total surrender of the things that make sense and embracing the winds of the unknown that blow through your branches. Over time I’ve learned to be free in areas that I used to hold so tightly. I’ve had to relinquish all control and place my struggles and insecurities in my Savior’s hands. Through this process of surrender I have learned to not only bear the fruit that He’s given me, but to share this fruit with those I meet.
Take a minute and examine your life. You are a tree. Where are you planted? Are you bearing fruit? If not, do you need a good pruning? Trust the master gardener to do his work. He is brilliant at his job, allow him to skillfully remove the damaged or unnecessary branches and you will begin to bear his good fruit.
Father, I acknowledge that I am in need of a master gardener. I want to remove the dead branches in my life. I ask you to prune away anything that is not of you and anything that keeps me from my full growth in you. As you are pruning, remind me that there is power in the process and that you are making me stronger. I trust you. Help me to be rooted deeper and deeper in You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
