Planted in Rest.
Hey y’all! It’s your girl Julie, back with another segment of “Salty & Lit,” and in today’s post, we’ll be talking about REST. Let’s pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, You are good. Your faithful love endures forever. Thank You for the truth in which we can rest in You. Help us to rest in You. Amen.
School’s out, summer’s here, and I’m resting, at least to the best of my abilities, but something I’m being reminded of is God wants us to rest.
I went to the park, where though it was extremely hot, there was a fresh breeze that brought some cool to the air. Yet something I noticed was that the breeze came, and the trees brought nice shade to the park. Where the tree was planted, it blessed those around it.
In Psalm 1:3, David, the author, talks about the blessed person being like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in its season. However, prior to that, David describes what the blessed person does: does not hang around certain people but delights on God’s Word and meditates on it day and night.
“What does it mean to be PLANTED?”
It means to be set in the ground for growth. A tree doesn’t plant itself. In fact, there’s a person (often a gardener) who does the planting. The tree is just planted. That means the tree didn’t really have a say in where it was planted, but the gardener was strategic in planting the tree. Here are application questions for you: Where did God plant you, or where is He planting you? And while you’re there, how does He want you to grow?
When planted, you have to grow, but the thing is that the tree grows based on the gardener’s actions. A tree can’t uproot itself, but when a tree stays planted, it takes root and gets strong roots in the ground. When we’re planted where God wants us, staying where He is, we’re getting deeply rooted in Him, growing in how He wants us to be and trusting where He has placed us.
Next, as mentioned before, the gardener does most of the work for the tree. The tree has provision (sunlight, water, and soil). It’s the same way for us. When we spend time in God’s Word, meditating on it day and night, we grow the way God wants us to. When we stay where God has placed us, there is provision. There’s water (spiritually, which is the Word of God), sunlight, and soil, and these are necessary for a tree to grow. How much more for the Christian?
My questions for you this time are these: 1. Where God has you, do you recognize that you have those things, so you can grow, or 2. Do you need God to show you those things?
My last point is that trees grow where they’re planted. Trees don’t force themselves to grow. It’s all in the gardener’s hands literally. It’s for us too as Christians. As we yield to what God has for us, we trust that He will help us grow. That’s not to mean be idle, but it means to trust your life in the hand of the Gardener.
Let’s pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being the Gardener. Teach us to trust You with everything and be where You want us to be. Help us to yield to You in all circumstances. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
That’s all I have for today! Don’t forget you are loved, salty, and lit. Talk to you soon! 🧡
