But I am like an olive tree

  flourishing in the house of God;

I trust in God’s unfailing love

  for ever and ever.

I will praise you forever for what you have done;

  in your name I will hope, for your name is good.

I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Psalms 52:8-9 | NIV84

The life the Lord gives to us is always changing, we are always growing and always learning. This is a good thing, I believe, that life provides hope and the things around us do not overtake nor consume us. Hope is like the sunrise, it is renewed every morning and as the day wanes on, hope grows stronger. Even during the night, hope flickers with each twinkling star shining above.

In winter, the trees go dormant seemingly standing still in its growth, but life all around them continues. While the trees lay dormant, they provide shelter for the forest creatures. It is always so interesting to me that Scripture often likens to those of faith to that of trees. People often think of a tree planted by a stream being constantly nourished by the teaming water, but it is much more than that. Not all trees are planted by streams of water and it is not always the case in a believer’s life that things will run smoothly or even go as one would like for them to. Sometimes trees grow in the desert.

Trees produce food for people and food for the animals and insects. They create oxygen and clean out carbon dioxide. Trees help watershed and erosion… trees are vital to life on earth.

Is it really any wonder that Scripture would liken believers to trees? Not really, when you consider all the good trees do and all that they can bear under the harshness of the world. They grow regardless and they provide life for others. Others. That’s the key word here.

The trees shown in the photo above are arched toward the western sky. They lean in the direction of where the sunlight is most exposed all year long. They long with every atom to nourish themselves by the sun and to absorb as much of it’s light as possible. The sun is superior to the tress because it provides life to everything on Earth. Without the sun, the trees would die.

The believer cannot survive without God, like the trees cannot survive without the sun. The sun provides sunlight to the trees so they can provide life to the living on Earth. God provides life to the believer, so they in return can give that life away to others in hope that those who do not believe will come to God and surrender their heart to Him. God provides life to everything that is in existence, but the life that He provides to the believer is spiritual life for the soul.

Like the trees that lean toward the sun, lean in toward God and go in His direction and follow Him. In the process, God will provide spiritual life to you, and then you can provide hope to those around you. The result of you drinking in every tiny bit of the Lord will produce blessings in the lives of others. It’s not about how much water you can obtain, but rather, how much you give away.