The River

I came across a verse this past week that I feel led to share. It came to me at just the right time. I was feeling so discouraged and more than a little grumpy! I was not being a nice person! I was in bad need of a word from God. I wasn't at home though, and all I had with me was a copy of the book my Sunday School class just started reading. I felt like the book wasn't really relative to my problem at the time, but it was all I had. It was there on the page right before Chapter 1 that I found this verse~ "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord.... They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit."~Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT).

That was exactly what I needed to hear!What a blessing! The first lesson I learned that day was that if you seek God, He will always give you what you need.

Secondly, He is the River and I am the tree. He is the one who allows me to have abundant life amidst life's troubles. I cannot depend on anyone else for that and no matter how discouraged or grumpy I feel, I still have to produce good fruit. Of course, this is not always easy. We all have bad days. Lately it seems, that discouragements hit me one after another. I cannot allow myself to wallow in disappointment though. God has a plan and He will reveal it when He is ready. I have to truly put my trust in Him and have the faith that He will see His plan through to the end!

Thirdly, I had to reflect on what fruit I should be producing. The Bible is very clear about this part. When we accept Christ, His Spirit comes to live in us. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If the Spirit is in you, these qualities should be present, also!

We are all a work in progress, so of course we will not always, 100% of the time, exhibit all of these qualities, but these are the qualities we should strive for. When we feel negative feelings we need to seek the fruit to replace it! Turn that frown upside down!

Dear Lord, I do trust you! Please help me to not be bothered by discouragement or worried by life's troubles. Help me stay fruitful, even in the difficult times. You are the River of Life! Remind me to always seek you and to turn over any grumpiness, hard-feelings and wrong attitudes to You! Thank you for being everything that I need, always. In Your precious name I pray, AMEN!