Grow Where You're Planted

Psalm 1

Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

I was born in Dallas at what’s now called Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas over on Walnut Hill. My dad was born in Dallas. His dad was born in Dallas. I love being a Texan and living in DFW. Now, my son is a Texan, too.

But for 11 years of my life, I wandered in the wilderness, so to speak. My family moved to Wisconsin. And I was unhappy. How could we leave our dear Texas home? Why would we move somewhere cold and snowy? What about all my friends still in Dallas?

Around that time, my mom started using the familiar phrase, “You’ve got to grow where you’re planted.” It means you may not always know where you’ll be, but, wherever you are, to make the best of it. Did that help teenage David? Well … try telling that to a teenager you know and see how it sticks.

You often might feel like you’re wandering through a wilderness yourself. Nothing goes right. If anything goes right at all, it’s only temporary. You look for ways to produce good fruits and aren’t finding many, if any.

The writer of Psalm 1 tells us this: “That person [the one who meditates on God’s law day and night] is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” If we disconnect ourselves from God’s Word, we don’t have a chance. The wilderness of life will consume us because we have no root.

But being connected to God’s Word, God makes us grow wherever we’re planted. He grows us in the garden of our homes, our schools, our jobs. He himself produces fruit on our branches. He blesses our work for him. He strengthens first and foremost with the forgiveness of his Son Jesus Christ, the Vine to whom we are connected.

Get connected to God’s Word. Make the time this week to study God’s Word on your own and with your family. Think about getting around God’s Word with friends. Come and hear the wonderful good news of Jesus at church. As you hear God’s Word, he will make you grow where you’re planted.