I was sitting at my desk, looking out my window one morning at an oak tree I had planted a few years ago. I began to think about it and how I had done nothing to the tree since I planted it. I thought about how it was once a little seed, while it was just a little seed, it also had everything in it that it needed to grow and become a mighty oak. It has gone through tornadoes, storms, high winds and dry weeks, yet it has continued to grow.
I thought about the scripture that says; they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord, for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61
Then I began to wonder why God relates us to oak trees instead of other trees, so I decided to find out more about oak trees. Here is what I found.
An oak tree provides great shade. An oak tree although it is a slow grower, boasts of a long life. There are male and female leaves on an oak tree, therefore it can reproduce all by itself, it has the ability to reproduce within itself. An oak tree doesn’t flower until it is mature. And, the older the oak tree gets, the more it produces and the more it provides a wider span of shade.
This made me think of George, who I minister with on the Healing Prayer Call. We had a conversation once about age. So you see, George, I have good news! We are the oak tree, the older we get the more we flower and bud. The older we get the more we produce shade for others. The older we get the more we reproduce what God has put inside us. And the older we get the more wide spread our area of influence becomes. God satisfies us with long life, just like the oak tree, and the longer we live, the better it gets. Praise the Lord!
Now, that may not thrill the 20 year olds reading this but for us who have passed 50 by, that is great news.
I read a scripture the other day in the book of Ruth that said God is our restorer of life and the one who renews our life, and He nourishes us in our old age. God never stops providing nourishment for his people. There is never a time when you are too old to make an impact. Think of Moses, he was very old and the bible says his eyes were not dim and his natural forces were not abated. Think of Caleb who took a city at a very old age – when God is your strength – your strength does not diminish.
Some days I feel a little like the tree I planted. I have gone through storms and high winds. I have gone through seasons of drought and need. Yet, here I stand. I am still standing and I am still growing and I am still producing. God is so faithful.
And it is all because of God. He put everything within me that I would need to grow and reproduce. He put everything in me that I would need to continue to stand through storms. He placed his nourishment within me so that I would continue to grow through the dry seasons. Yes, just like that tree that was once a seed, everything we need to grow to full maturity is already on the inside of us. The seed is within us. We simply have to keep standing.
Today we don’t have to worry or stress about our growth or our age or storms that may come – no, God has us right where he wants us, in the palm of his hand, in his very presence. Our creator is well able to finish what he started – to bring it to a perfect end – to bring us to a perfect end. To bring us to where we are destined to be.
Now, when I look out my window at that little tree, I see it differently, I see me, standing season after season through storms and winds, growing, even though I can’t see it, flourishing, reproducing and providing a place of shade for those who need it. Thank you God! Thank you.
