“…but her leaf shall be green …” – Jeremiah 17:8

There are days and years when our leaves wither. Or influence evaporates. Our joy is diminished. Our hopes and dreams come to naught.

Such were the days that Isaiah prophesied and Jeremiah both lived and prophesied.

But a better day would come with repentance and renewal and Jeremiah foretold it for “the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.”

That is the key. To stay green and fresh, full of life and giving life, one must do two things: trust in God and hope in God.

“For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” – Jeremiah 17:8

Nothing can disturb such a person or cause that one to fade.

Ezekiel, who also spoke to those dark days of Judah’s sorrow said,

“And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” – Ezekiel 47:12

For Ezekiel, obedient trust and hope in God were also essential, but a third element was also vital. The person who would thrive, would live in proximity to the river of life that flows from the very heart of God.

Today, we have the same desire to stay fresh and green, alive and awakened as well as budding with promise. The scriptures still issue us these guide to the full life:

Trust God completely, obediently, and reverently.

Hope in God with full expectation of His faithfulness.

Live in constant communion with God in proximity to the river of life.

So shall you live.

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