It is that point in the semester when it seems like entire days pass by in the wink of an eye, leaving us gasping for breath and dying for a break from life’s many responsibilities. We feel uprooted and anxious, as if we have no time or place to rest our souls. It’s that point in the semester when we fight for the simple strength to get through the day, when we merely survive instead of thrive. For those who are wearied and burdened, receive this midweek encouragement from the pen of Elisabeth Elliot:
“’Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and rests his confidence upon him. He shall be like a tree planted by the waterside, that stretches its roots along the stream. When the heat comes it has nothing to fear.’ (Jer. 17:7-8)
Here is another beautiful metaphor from the created world, illuminating a spiritual principle which is as sure and practical as the natural fact of a tree’s need for water. My spirit comes to rest nowhere in all the universe but in the Lord. There and nowhere else I find what slakes my thirst, sustains me, causes fruit to appear, and preserves me from fear. I must be planted—that is, permanently settled, fixed, and as peaceful as a tree about its assigned place—not in any special “work” or geographical location, necessarily, but in the Lord Himself. Daily I stretch my roots along that fresh, pure stream of His love. I drink living water when I come to Him. Then, when the heat comes, as it is sure to do, I have nothing to fear.
Plant me, Lord. Remind me to stretch my roots to drink of the Water of Life. Refresh me today in Your love, so that in Your coolness I may stand the heat.”
–The Music of His Promises: Listening to God with Love, Trust, and Obedience (26-27)
