What could it mean for our “leaves not to wither”? 🤔

Ps 1:1-3 – one of my fave verses/promises. One seemingly innocuous statement in there that got me thinking recently with a friend is what could it mean for our leaves not to wither? 🤔

• Since the fruit comes in its season, we settled this on the Ecclesiastes 7:14 verse which says “enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God and nothing is certain in this life”. God himself said there is a time for everything under the sun (e.g. riches, good health, children, houses, jobs etc.) We initially thought the ‘fruits’ in Psalms 1 could be referring to the fruits of the spirit but agreed that it couldn’t be as they’re not seasonal! 💡

• But what does it mean for your leaf not to wither then? We said considering that not all trees produce fruits, we may not always be able to define a tree by its fruit. But since most trees have leaves, perhaps we could often define or know a tree type by its leaves. In other words, our leaves define us. 

• So the question is what defines us? Are we defined by what the world says about us, in prosperous times and naught, when there’s fruits and without? Are we defined by our past sins and the devil’s raging efforts to make us feel inadequate or unloved by God? Or are we defined by what God has said about us?

• He’s said that we’re a chosen people, a royal priest hood, God’s special possession, the head and not the tail, we shall be above and not beneath, we shall lend to many nations and not borrow, we’re cities set upon a hill that cannot be hidden, we will have peace that surpasses human understanding etc. If we let these God promises define us, no matter what’s happening in life, these promises are true and we’re able to live life like Paul, knowing how to live on almost nothing or with plenty, able to live with a full stomach or empty, learning the secret of living in every situation – the secret of facing life. (Phillipians 4:12)

• The holy spirit also defines and moulds the lives of God’s children. When we study God’s word and ask for wisdom, what we get is the Holy Spirit who is the embodiment of wisdom in its totality. As mentioned earlier, the fruits of the spirit are not seasonal (Gal 5:22-24). Therefore, these fruits in the life of a true child of God, are also like leaves that do not wither!

So, what defines you? Be like the tree who’s leaves do not wither. Delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night! Let not your identity vary with the seasons; find your identity in God and what He’s said about you. Let that God-given identity stand the test of time and trials, reflecting the fact that you’re like the tree planted by the rivers of water whose leaf shall not wither. 🙌🏾🙏🏾😇