I’ve said it before and it will probably always be true: if it weren’t for my husband, my houseplants would be dead. I love plants, or at least I say I do, but I forget to water them. It builds endurance, right? I don’t think they appreciate it. I’m sure you’ve had a plant or flower that was a little neglected and became wilted and drooping over, but once you gave it some water, before long it straightened up and filled out – happy and thriving instead of barely hanging on to its little plant life.

I was listening to a message by Tim Keller yesterday about Psalm 1: the first of many wonderful rich poems, desperate laments, mountain-top celebrations and heartfelt prayers to God and about God. Here it is:

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.

2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.

3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.

4 But not the wicked!
They are like worthless chaff,
scattered by the wind.

5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
Sinners will have no place among the godly.

6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

Tim’s message focused on the necessity of meditating on God’s Word so we can thrive, but I also gained some new perspective on a few other things.

Jesus had a conversation with a Samaritan woman once and told her if she only knew the gift God had for her she would ask for Living Water. “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life,” (John 4:13-14). That thirst is the inner thirst we all have, the sometimes seemingly unquenchable yearning in our hearts for what we lack. We look to and “drink in” all sorts of things and people to try and satisfy the thirst, but none of it lasts or truly satisfies. Some can even be toxic. We are barely surviving spiritually (which affects our entire life, physically and otherwise).

Among many other things, God once told Jeremiah, the prophet, to warn His people about this:

They [my people] have abandoned me—the fountain of living water.
And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all! Jeremiah 2:13

In our self-sufficiency we think we’re doing fine when all the while our roots are shriveling and starving, a malnourished tree trying to grow in dry, cracked dirt.

For a short time, could it be that Jesus even knew this feeling? We read these words in Psalm 22, a specific and accurate prophecy about Jesus’ crucifixion:

14 My life is poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax, melting within me.

15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.

Near the end of his death on the cross, Jesus said “I thirst.” No doubt physically he was dehydrated and truly thirsty. But Tim Keller proposed it could have also been because at that moment he was taking on our sin, essentially becoming sin, becoming the wicked who are cut off from God, detached from the source of Living Water. His life was utterly being poured out, draining out like water. He was becoming dusty, lifeless chaff to be scattered in the wind. (Psalm 1:4) That is the opposite of what He wants for us.

If you’ve ever flown in a plane, when you look down across squares of farmers’ fields, forests, neighborhoods and more, you see so many trees growing along rivers and around lakes, where they have a steady supply of water. Psalm 1 paints a beautiful picture of healthy, lush trees growing along a flowing river, always green, always fruitful when the season for that comes, fully alive and strong.

Contrary to actual trees, in a way we actually choose where we want to be planted, settle and grow. In Ephesians 4 the Apostle Paul mentions that in a most loving prayer for the people following Jesus:

16 I pray that from his [God’s] glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 

And Jesus said He’s the Vine and we’re his branches. (John 15:5) He said without Him we can do nothing. But as long as we abide in Him, stay attached to Him, we’ll bear fruit – we’ll have all we need. We’ll have Him.

Unlike my poor houseplants, we have a Father who is not only attentive and caring, but always with us. He is the Living Water, the ever bubbling, even gushing, pure source of life and everything good. He provides more than we need and is the same yesterday, today and forever. Why would we want to plant ourselves anywhere else?

Scriptures used are in the New Living Translation
Tim Keller’s podcast and messages: https://open.spotify.com/show/5hYDVSeY9KWSpkI4YlSzKF?si=W0uS2LlhSJ-Lggv7WzPkYA