Leaves that Do Not Wither

    Picture this:  A steamy cup of coffee in hand, musing on the deck with coolness tickling your cheeks and the scent of change piercing the air.  Flaming bushes and sun-touched canopies errupt in their grand finale while wilting leaves and weary petunias begin to take their gracious, humble bow.  

    There is a stunning settling, a determined nestling, and a tenacious slowing-down feel to the scene.  You drink it in, breathe it in, and allow it in.  The weight of a spectacular autumn captures your thoughts, reducing summer to yesterday's dream.  

    Change.  We can't stop it.  We may or may not like it, but one thing is certain:  the leaves are going to fall.

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    Though we cannot control so many of the stressful externals in our lives, as believers, we ought to be able to find internal spiritual peace that surpasses our human understanding and external circumstances.   What does this mean?

    God gives us a secret to this approach to living.  Not only does He tells us where to "do" life, He also tells us how to bear fruit and prosper.  He reminds us that "the righteous will thrive like a green leaf" (Pro. 11:28). 

    Though untold hardship and trials may tap on our shoulders, in the deepest part of our Christian soul, we can remain vibrant, nourished, and laden with fruit. 

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    Psalm 1: 2-3 says of the righteous man, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD,  And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither;  And in whatever he does, he prospers." 

    Could we say the same of the persecuted man?  The battle-weary man?  The agonizing man?  The one who aims to endure the trial?  The one whose hope is placed in God alone?

    Perhaps there is no greater compliment than to be told that you live your life congruent with your professed beliefs especially in the midst of hardship.  When the frost bites and the leaves are falling in your life, do you delight in God's Word?  Are you a conduit for God's living water, life, and love despite your personal circumstance?  Are the leaves of your very soul and spirit thriving, indeed spectacularly brilliant, though summer is yesterday's dream?   

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From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 61:2