I want you to open your windows and look out. What do you see? I’m guessing you see the sky, grass, bushes and trees. You might even see a bird or squirrel.
Where I live there are many pine trees, but I have a few oak trees that I cherish. Here is a beautiful picture of an oak tree.
The beauty of the live oak is its branches. They are not smooth and wispy, but more like knotty and crooked. When I lived near Mandeville, Louisiana, I would go down next to Lake Pontchartrain and sit on the branches of the live oaks. Some of the branches touched the ground and then grew up again. It was fun walking on them and if I was still, I could observe many birds and squirrels hopping and scurrying throughout the trees.
We all know that trees in general provide food, shelter, shade and natural beauty. The live oak is unique because it allows other plants to live on it and provides nutrients for them. In U.S. culture the live oak is a symbol of strength, safety and resilience.
The devotional for this morning is: Be an Oak Tree. I want to delve into its attributes for us and hope to relate it to our everyday lives.
I can’t help but think that we as women have been called to reach out. Just like the oak whose branches don’t grow up but out, we should be striving not for a “Look at me and mine” but a reaching out quality.
And just like the knotty, chunky branches, our imperfections and our past experiences is what God wants to use to help another person.
It’s easy sometimes to give money to the homeless person at the stoplight or swipe the card at the grocery store to pay for someone’s bill. I’m not knocking either of those, however, I want to bring this closer to us. I want this to teach us where we live and who we live with. Reaching the needs of our spouses and kids isn’t always the first we think of when talking about serving others.
I’ll be honest with you ladies; it’s hard for me to lay aside my schedule. There have been many times one of my kids would have to say, “Mama, but I need you now.” I’ve missed opportunities to comfort, listen, encourage, prepare, guide, etc. because I was too busy checking off my to-do list.
Live oaks are known to give shelter to many animals and provide food for them as well. What if one winter the oak doesn’t drop acorns? Two major problems would incur: no food to feed the animals and no potential for new trees to grow. We are called to allow the Lord to use us and if we don’t do our part, there will be a gap.
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It’s important we walk in our purpose and responsibilities no matter how we are feeling. Procrastination can steal your effectiveness. It’s important to press on and nurture and provide for the ones that are in our care. If I stop providing, there will be negative consequences that I will face and force others to experience.
Another attribute that I find amazing is the thick trunks and strong branches. It takes a lot to down an oak tree. Do you know that everything you have gone through, good or bad, is etched into who you are today?
Your trunk, branches and leaves tell a story.
This is what makes you capable of reaching out to others; it qualifies you for such a time as this.
In Isaiah 61:3 it prophesies of Jesus’ purpose in our lives:
“…to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.”
A prophecy that through salvation and the cleansing of unrighteousness, allowing the things we go through to shape us more into the image of Christ, we might be called “trees of righteousness.” What an honor for others to come under our influence of right ways and right thinking! What a blessing to be called by God to reach and nurture others that they too might grow in the knowledge and right ways of the Lord!
My dear sister in Christ, this is a high calling, but it is not unachievable. If you allow the Lord today to use you in your home, the anointing will be felt by your family and then those you serve publicly.
The last attribute of the live oak tree is that it allows other plants to grow on it. Have you seen Spanish moss? That is one of the plants that gets its nutrients and ability to thrive and grow from the oak tree.
What a humbling thought! It’s not just about me, it’s about us. I encourage you to read Romans 12. It speaks of us all being in unity like the members of our body; different but having the same goal. I want you to make it to heaven, you want me to make it to heaven. We are in this together, we are not competing.
With the oak tree symbolizing strength, safety and resilience, let’s also allow our reputation to be the same. Strength in the face temptations and trials, safety when someone needs a person they can talk to, knowing the conversation is confidential and resilient in the face of a culture who tells us this way of righteousness isn’t popular.
I have only scratched the surface of this thought. Please take time to study and ask the Lord to reveal His truth to you.
I’ll leave you with this: Psalm 1:3
And [she] shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth [her] fruit in [her] season;
[Her] leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever [she] doeth shall proper.
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