“For there is hope for a tree,

When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,

And its shoots will not fail.

“Though its roots grow old in the ground

And its stump dies in the dry soil,

At the scent of water it will flourish

And put forth sprigs like a plant.”  (Job 14.7-9, NASB95)

The Biblical work called “Job” has fascinated me since I was a young man.  I honestly never got caught up in the “suffering” part of Job’s story because the work itself seemed to immediately tackle much larger, howbeit related, issues.  As I have trekked through the years of my spiritual journey, I have discovered how important Job is to the modern understanding of God and His explanation of Himself, Jesus the Christ.

This image of life from the stump is carried forward to the messianic sayings of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 11.10, 53.2) and applied specifically to Jesus of Nazareth (Romans 15.12, Revelation 22.16).

Those who are in Christ ought to reflect the vitality of his presence in every circumstance.  Even if they, like the tree under the forester’s axe, succumb to be cut off from towering above the earth, the root is still fed by the very source of new life.  The truth is when one whose root is Jesus sees Him face to face, new life is guaranteed (1 John 3.1-2).  The one who has a new sprig shooting up from the “stump”  serves as testimony to the promise, “Abundant life remains.” (John 10.10)

My prayer today is that the Lord would change my heart. I tend to fall into the pit of self-reliance over and over again. My heart’s desire is truly to rest in the Lord; yet the work of my hands rarely reflects that desire.

God help me to be a witness to your life in me. Let those around me know that I drink from the living waters. Allow your presence to shine through. Be grace through me and allow my actions to be extensions of your mercy and testimony to the life that flows from the Root that never surrendered to death.