There is a River: Personal Story

With a chapter like this one, it is hard to determine a good place to begin. Since 2013, this chapter has been the philosophy of my life. It has made a tremendous impact on how I should view my relationship with the Lord. It has even given me a deeper understanding of how I should define my lifestyle.

                And it all started with a tree.

                In 2013, I concentrated on what that tree meant to me. It was the opposite of the wicked and it helped propel myself towards obedience in Christ. My devotion was to the Lord. I was promised prosperity through persistent communication with God. Everyone around me benefitted from the joy I gained when I walked in step with the Holy Spirit. “They are like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither,” the words promised. “…Whatever he does prospers” was what gained my attention the most. So, I didn’t walk in step with the wicked. I did not stand in the way of sinners. I guarded my heart, knowing that “everything [I] do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). I “fix[ed] my gaze directly before me.” Nothing could pull me under because the Lord rooted me near streams of water.

                I prospered. I was unshaken and unmovable.

                I blogged about Psalm 1; I drew art about Psalm 1. I even spoke prophetic words about Psalm 1. Everyone knew about Psalm 1 because it rolled off my tongue like a silky milk chocolate from one’s mouth. Life could no longer throw its curveballs. I was free from anything that was wicked.

                …until 2014 hit. I began school year number three. I began to pour into the students, aware that they couldn't pour back into me even if they tried. They are 5^th graders, knowing they need to learn but not always wanting to. I began at a reasonable pace until the students needed me more and more. The more they needed me, the more I poured into them. I loved on them daily, often exchanging my impatient fury for God’s heaven-sent wisdom and delight. Romans 12:8 was my verse. If encouragement was my gift – encourage. If diligence was my gift, serve with a good attitude. Romans 12:8 took me through each day. One thing Romans 12:8 didn’t do was what my chapter could: fill me up when I emptied my all into that classroom. Each night, whether it was 4pm, 6pm, or 10pm, I would leave all of my love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness (Galatians 5:22) there, behind locked doors. On every desk would be the remains of each Fruit of the Spirit. Was I content? Yes. Unfortunately, I was also empty.

                I was so empty that I couldn’t show anymore fruit in my basket. I would cry randomly, for no reason. If someone looked at me, they would see straight through me. My face would show the emptiness. I was transparent. Then the Lord took me back to 2013. He told me about that same tree, drinking from that same stream. The stream never went dry and the tree never withered. The Lord came down to my level, my empty-cup level, and started filling my roots with that same water, from that same stream. It never went dry. As He poured, He whispered, “When the world beats you down, there is a river.”

                When the world beats you down, there is a river.

                I lost it. My cup overflowed through my eyes and my tree didn’t just drink up. It grew leaves, flowers, and my branches grew thick. Where? That same stream. It never left me, and it never will. I didn’t need to know about how to be righteous. I didn’t need to know what happens to the wicked. I didn’t need to know the difference between the two. I needed to know that God richly blesses the righteous and that I will be richly blessed because “The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight” (2 Samuel 22:25). It is his sight of me that I am righteous, and I made righteous because of His grace.

                The Lord saw me as an empty vessel, and He did what only He could do on that August 28^th, 2014: He filled me up and recharged me so I could continue being a vessel.

                That tree can prosper because there is a particular stream that fills it. Psalm one is all about the stark contrast between the righteous and the wicked. However, it is also about the beauty of God’s unending grace and love when we are “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). When we choose to be righteous in all we do and allow God to work in us, He promises to fill us with the gifts of the Spirit.

                As we encounter God in a variety of ways, we can rest assure that God will bring us into His glory throughout our lives. Joshua 1:8 says, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” If we fix our eyes on the Lord, He promises to fill us in ways only He can do it. In all you do, remember that His love is available to those who seek Him wholeheartedly.

Whenever you doubt the Lord’s faithfulness. Whenever you feel lonely, doubtful, and burdened. remember:

There is a river (Psalm 1:3).

River of Life

There are two sides to living: your own way, or God's way. You can live the way you want, with no allegiance to anyone but yourself. You are the commander of yourself. You are solely responsible for the type of existence you create, and the consequences that come with your choices are only made visible when you decide to make a big deal of them.

This sounds pretty good. No responsibilities. Eminem, songwriter and rap artist, once said, "I say what I want to say and do what I want to do. There's no in between. People will either love you for it or hate you for it." We can say whatever we want, do whatever we want, and whoever does not like it can lick a frozen flagpole. "Out of my way, I have a life to live," the independent fighter can say. Again, no allegiance to anyone. You rule yourself, and if anyone wants to follow, they can come along as long as it does not intrude on your decisions, choices, and minor responsibilities.

Unfortunately, those who live for themselves are prone to wickedness and deception. They only think about what suits them, and this selfish corruption they file away begins to define them. Galatians 5:19-21 says,

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Paul, author of Galatians, wrote with the churches of Galatia in mind. He wrote to Christians who knew of sin and were aware of who it affected. If you are aware of the sin you commit, yet continue to commit it, who is your allegiance to? Just two verses prior, Paul states, "For the flesh (sinful) desires what is contrary to the Spirit (filled with the presence of God), and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want" (Galatians 5:17).

Slowly, a simple sin turns into a habit, and that habit turns into addiction. As we begin turning over to depravity, selfishness, and some of (if not all of) the sins listed above, we begin to lose the identity God intends to give us. We become unglued and run loose like beheaded chickens.

What do we do in a society like this? God's heart breaks at the rebellious children. We look in mirrors and shatter them with our corrupted identity (James 1:23). Who we are supposed to be gets locked away by the hands of demons, and our selfishness rules like an emperor of a country.

We are choking among thorns, thistles, weeds, and death. Where we sit is a graveyard. Dehydration kicks in, and those who surround us mock in ridicule and evil laughter. Lifeless, our only motivation is the hope of dying sooner than later. 

Yet, from the perspective of David, there lies another source of hope.

Not too far from corruption flows a never-ending river. It is an oasis of rich blue and delicious spring water. On the other side of that stream sits a tree. Its leaves never whither, it yields its fruit every season, and its limbs never grow tired. Here, it rests by the stream because it never thirsts (John 4:14) and never grows weary. Whatever it does, it prospers. This tree never steals, never boasts in itself, and never covets; it never grows impatient, unkind, or wicked. There is no need for this tree to sin because it "delights in the law of the Lord" (Psalm 1:2). Everyday, the tree receives life. It is always joyful, accepting, and at peace. Because it relies heavily on the water and plot of land it is given, it never wanders, but receives life everlasting.

David paints this picture in Psalm 1. In this chapter, David begins to understand how critical it is to stay committed to God and never stray. The wicked, while sitting on the opposite side as the prosperous tree, will always perish in their own foolishness (their decision). But, this tree will always be in nourished. It sits by Living Water, which will never run dry. 

Sometimes, we fall into those storms in life. We begin thinking about our problems, our issues, and our future. We leave God out of the equation, whether done intentionally or unintentionally, and we suffer for it in the end.

Plain and simple: A life without God will eventually perish, and a life with God will prosper like a tree by the riverside. 

Which side of the river do you find yourself on?