Sunday, March 1, 2009

Oaks of Righteousness



I LOVE Sundays. Sundays are my days. Every other day it is my joy to pour out all that I am to hopefully radiate the glory of Christ where ever I go. But Sundays are completely and wholly mine. My time to meet with God, be romanced by Him, enjoy Him and find myself in Him. There is nothing better than being behind closed doors with the Lover of my soul. And as an additional bonus, I have the house all to myself today because Patricia and Greg went on vacation, the girls are with their mom and Noah is at Aunt Stacy and Uncle Trent's.

Today I have been reading about God's planting. Isaiah 61 says,

"They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor."

I stopped to ponder exactly what it meant to be an oak of righteousness. Honestly, God comparing me to a tree doesn't exactly make my heart quiver with excitement (even though I am a naturalist and do love trees). And a descriptor of righteousness doesn't quite seem to fit most days. But that last part, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor made me want to leap out of my chest. The word display and also splendor in Hebrew is the word Pa'ar. Here are some of the definitions: to embellish, beautify, adorn, to glorify, to be glorified, to bring honor, give honor, to boast. Can you believe that? God's extravagant love. It never ceases to amaze me. He makes me beautiful. He adorns me with honor and glory. Not my own glory, but His. He boasts about me. He brags about me and shows me off to people. Then I began to think this verse maybe didn't sound so bad. So, I decided to look a little further.

Isaiah 60:21
They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.

Psalm 1:3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does, he prospers.

Jeremiah 17:8
He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

I love God. He says that I am like an oak of righteousness. That my soul is a deep well submerged in Christ. My roots grow deep, and at their deepest place they are fed by the Living spring. And that Living spring never dries up, even in times of trouble.

It's not easy to lay down my life every day for Christ, and to give Him Lordship over all of my thoughts, longings, desires, fears, worries, and anxieties. But when I do, He promises that the favor He produces through my life will not wither, it will be ever producing because He is planting in me the display of His splendor. I love the verse, it has no worries in a year of drought. I find myself consumed by daily worries at times, and it is a miserable place to be. In the presence of Jesus, in complete surrender is when I find quiet rest. He is faithful to create this in us because He wants to be glorified. He wants His splendor to be displayed. Because His beauty is perfect beauty, and it shines forth.

How about you? How does it create worship in you to know that God plants you as an oak of righteousness? What does it mean to you that He is the one that does the planting? Sit back and enjoy the work that only Christ can do.

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