The Alpha of Flourishing

Uv 3031/10000 The Alpha of Flourishing

And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
Ezekiel 17 v 24

The trees of the field mentioned in the uni-verse are an apt metaphor for people who live on earth. The earth is the field, the footstool of the Lord. The people are trees that need to take root in the word of the Lord. For the word is wholesome food for the whole being of every human. It is the spiritual seed that originates in the mouth of the Lord that needs to remain in our minds and hearts for a while to germinate and send down deep roots. The people who pay no heed to the word of the Lord will be brought down in their pride and rebellion. They may appear to flourish for a season like an evergreen tree but will dry under the heat of the midday sun- the troubles and trials of this life. Like a dry tree, our lives have neither meaning nor power nor purpose without an organic and intimate connection with the Lord. His word acts as moisture to soften the hardness of our hearts and minds to make it fertile and productive.

The people who remain rooted in the word of the Lord will certainly grow tall in every sense like a cedar of Lebanon. They will flourish and bear fruit and give shelter or hope to many birds. The birds are a metaphor for those who have not yet found their hope in the Lord but are seeking an eternal refuge from the storms of life. The dry tree stands for people who humble themselves in surrendering their hearts and lives to the Lord. They are contented to be branches of righteousness of the Lord.

The faithful will innovate and flourish. They will learn to take up new challenges and accomplish great things for the glory or make visible and manifest in practical and real ways the invisible greatness of the Lord in this world. They will not wilt under heat or pressure or crisis. These are the ones who are taken from the dunghill of misery of the sin and misery of this world and lifted up to sit with persons of dignity and honour in the kingdom of God. They are the ones who believe that if the Lord has said or promised something, He can do it. His words coincide with deeds or as good as deeds.