I’m always looking for life lessons in this world around me. I still have so much to learn and understand. When I read scripture, especially Psalms and the teachings of Yeshua, the words are full of pictures…word images that bring the principles being taught to life. I am a visual/doer kind of learner. So these word images stick in my mind.

While I was in Honduras, a tree in our goat pasture went down. It is a huge tree. It took out part of the fence. It’s gonna be a big job to clean up.

The tree was located on a flat space. It was still healthy. It looked perfectly stable. However, the recent rain had saturated the ground. It was growing in a low place. The ground there was wet and unstable. When a big wind came, it went down.

Other trees in the pasture are on higher ground. Some on the sides of an incline. They are actually more stable. Rain doesn’t accumulate and make the ground too wet.

For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream. And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit. Jeremiah 17:8

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. Psalm 1:3

I know these scriptures seem to contradict what I just said about being planted in a low, wet place, but not really.

In Israel, the trees the writer refers to are trees growing beside a wadi. We picture a lush forest or beautiful green pasture with trees beside a flowing river. But mostly we see trees in a desert- like area beside a dry shallow ditch. When the rains come, these wadis become raging streams and rivers. The trees growing alongside these wadis drink freely during these rainy times. The rest of the time roots that are sent deep into the earth still find moisture. The tree may live in a harsh environment, but it is stable.

While I thought about all these things, I realized that what appears to be a healthy, stable environment may not be. And what appears to be a harsh environment, actually makes the tree stronger.

Stability depends on where we plant ourselves…in the world system…or the family of God…we make the choice.