For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.

Jeremiah 17:8

I love how we are referred to as a tree in this verse. Depending on the season trees can be barren, fruitless, colorless and through it all remain very much alive. Seasons come and go and then come right back around again and yet the roots are what really matter. Branches without leaves or fruit doesn’t mean that it is dead. When we walk a life of faith our road is not always the prettiest nor do we look very pretty either. When we trust and are rooted in faith we’ll always come back to a place of fullness, the place where all is well.  When we were staying in 8 different hotels when we got to Texas, I didn’t feel like I was a great example of not being anxious or fearing the heat and trust me in the middle of one of the hottest summers of Texas it was something to be feared! I wanted to look like this tree, be sure and confident and still bear fruit of my faith to my children, family and friends. I wanted to be a living example of walking by faith not by sight and truth be told the site was pretty dim. But through it all we came back around to a place of provision and absolute miracles. I have learned that we can be just like this tree, we can weather the storms of life and still be at peace, bearing fruit and above all full of faith. I encourage you to dig deep and take a look at your roots. Lets establish today that we will not be moved but firmly rooted in “Jesus, the Tree of Life!”