Leaves That Never Wither

Leaves That Never Wither

Day and night they think about [God’s] law. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper. –Psalm 1:2-3

While many people ask Anne Graham Lotz what it is like to be the daughter of Billy Graham, she will tell you that being the daughter of Ruth Bell Graham is far more intimidating. Her mother was witty and wise, creative and kind. Anne remembers how her mother would put all of the children to bed and then spread out several translations of the Bible to study into the night. Early in the morning Anne would awaken to find her mother reading her Bible. Living the life of a single parent while her husband traveled the world to preach, Ruth found her source of strength in God’s Word.

This is the kind of person the writer of Psalm 1 had in mind, a person whose thoughts are drawn day and night to God’s Word, not out of obligation, but because the pages of Scripture offer the nourishment we need. People who are drawn to God’s Word are fruitful even when the hot winds of adversity blow and even while they wait for the gentle rain of relief. Their fruitfulness is not dependent on the proper atmospheric conditions but on being planted in the right place—a place where their roots can go deep into God’s Word, which feeds them in the deepest places of their thirsty souls. People who have deep roots in the soil of God’s Word are steadily nourished by its life-giving streams. They overflow with deep-seated joy and contentment; they flower with green goodness, fed by an inner spring of delight in God’s Word. They are renewed and refreshed by the truths of Scripture. In its pages they find life-giving insight, an alternative to the life-draining triviality of the world.

Is it really possible to bear fruit without fail and to prosper in all you do? It is absolutely possible to the extent that you stay connected to your source, drinking up the living water of the Word. You do not have to give up on fruitfulness in the dry seasons of life, as long as you continue in consistent contemplation and internalization of God’s Word. What a rich and rewarding life awaits us as our roots go deeper into God’s Word.

River of life, how I long for my roots to drink steadily of your living water so I need never wither in the dry and difficult seasons of life. Your Word is life, and it is the ultimate source for never-fading, ever-flowering fruitfulness.

DIGGING DEEPER