COLUMN: Are You Planted In The Desert Or Planted By Living Water?

In the greatest movie of all time about a dog that excels at sports, "Air Bud" is granted the opportunity to choose his owner. Buddy finds himself in the middle of a custody battle that goes all the way to the courts. The judge decides that he will let Air Bud pick his rightful owner. The courtroom goes outside, and the evil Snively stands on one side, and Josh stands on the other. Buddy is in the middle, and whoever he goes toward will be his owner. Will he choose Snively, the previous owner who used to beat him, or Josh, the little boy who loved him with all his heart?

There are a few heart pounding moments as Buddy inches toward that evil clown Snively, who is holding the newspaper he used to beat Buddy with. That jerk. How could Buddy be inching towards him? But then, Buddy jumps and rips the newspaper out of his hand, tears it to pieces, runs to Josh, and jumps in his arms! Oh, what a happy ending!

Many times, we envision ourselves in this same scenario. It is really just the angel and demon on your shoulder. I have an evil decision in one direction, and I have a good decision the other direction. We find ourselves in this tug-of-war about which decision we should make.

As entertaining as this thought is, it is not exactly the picture given in the Bible. In fact, Jeremiah 17:5-8 gives a much different picture. Rather than being in a tug-of-war over every decision, the prophet Jeremiah uses the imagery of a plant to show us there is only one decision that matters. Where are you planted?

Those who put their trust in themselves are planted in the desert. They lack water, and eventually they will shrivel up and die. No matter how healthy the juniper plant is in every other aspect, if it does not have water, it will shrivel and die.

Those who put their trust in the Lord are planted by a stream where its roots can grow strong and toward the water. A tree planted by the water will thrive in heat and drought because it is not relying on rain for its water source. Its water source is underground already reaching the tree's roots. Jeremiah posits that a tree planted by the stream will continue to produce fruit even in the midst of a drought.

It certainly feels as if we are in the midst of a drought right now. With so much uncertainty looming in the future, the easiest thing to do is hold on to fear. An unhealthy focus on fear, though, shows where you are planted. It shows that your trust is in mankind, not God, and those external circumstances are able to shrivel you up.

Standing strong in the face of fear, continuing to bear fruit in the midst of a pandemic, also shows where you are planted. Your trust is in the Lord, not another person or yourself.

Now is the time to evaluate where you are planted. Are you all alone in the desert waiting for the elements to take over? Or, are you planted by the Living Water, unfazed by the drought, knowing your confidence resides in the God who saves?

BLAKE KUTTER GRADUATED FROM FARMINGTON HIGH IN 2011, OUACHITA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY IN 2015, AND HAS WORKED AS A STUDENT PASTOR IN ARKANSAS AND FLORIDA. HE NOW SERVES AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, CONYERS, GA. [email protected]. OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.