Discover the Fruit
Psalm 1:1-3 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.
I love fruit trees. I remember as a young boy, mum and dad had nectarine trees, peach trees, apricot trees and plumb trees in the backyard. Man, in spring and summer when those trees started producing their fruit, my sister and I would just go outside and it was amazing.
What do I feel like today? Oh those plumbs look good, so I’d just pluck a plumb off the tree sit down on the grass and eat it. So sweet, so tasty. And the nectarines, when they were ripe, wow! There’s something about fruit trees, right?
So long as they have their roots down in good soil, and they get plenty of water, they are going to keep on giving. They are going to yield their fruit in due season.
And interestingly, it’s that luscious, tasty, amazingly abundant picture that God uses to describe the life that He wants you to live.
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. (Psalm 1:1-3)
Chances are, you’ve never really thought of yourself as a fruit tree. But lets just sit down on the grass and look at this picture that God’s painting for us. When we choose to do good rather than to be wicked, when we choose to become a man or a woman of God’s Word, feeding on God’s Word the way that a fruit tree feeds on the soil and the streams, the promise is that our lives will indeed yield rich fruit in season.
Do you feel sometimes like there’s not quite the overwhelming abundance of fruit that there perhaps should be in your life? Do you feel as though sometimes your leaves seem to be withered, your emotions are frayed, you’re spiritually dry, you’re completely spent?
Then it’s time to deliberately get into God’s Word. Interestingly, the original Hebrew word used there for “streams of water” implies irrigation channels. In other words, a deliberate, man made decision and act, to bring the water to the trees. And it’s that same deliberate decision and act that you can take, to become someone who is immersed I God’s Word.
Because then, with goodness flowing into you, you won’t be tempted to follow the wicked, the sinners and the scoffers. Instead, you’ll be like one of those amazing fruit trees I was telling you about, yielding a bounty of stunning fruit in season. That’s the natural consequence of a tree that’s planted in good soil, by streams of living water.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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