“For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant."
Job 14-7-9
On a day I am feeling so hopeless and displaced this verse really spoke to me like some sort of megaphone from heaven. It's as if God himself ordained this day for me to hear of it. I have never heard this scripture before. Just a few days ago I cut down my first tree. It was sort of a spiritual experience for me in a way. I guess I was just reflecting on the life of the tree and I felt a bit sad cutting it down, yet really appreciative of its beauty. I needed it for my own purposes, I had to cut it down in order to full fill this purpose.
I wonder if sometimes God sees us the same way. Whether or not our life is perfectly planned or not I don't know. I don't understand if the really hurtful and terrible things that I've felt and been through are ordained by God, or if they are just the result of living in a fallen world with fallen humans full of sin.
But I can tell you that lately I have felt like this tree. Cut off. Dead. Dieing. Weary. Torn up from my own roots. Displaced. And this verse was a profound insight into the human condition. This verse is from a book about Job who had every reason to feel hopeless and lost.
Yet God gives comfort with these words.
I hope that I too can eventually "sprout" and "bud" and that I won't allow the trials of life to kill my spirit and leave me dead. I pray that I will find that "water" I need to grow again and be like that "young plant". I feel old right now and weary. But who has that living water to help me grow? Only Jesus Christ.
