Listen to these encouraging words from the prophet Jeremiah:

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought (Jeremiah 17;7,8 NIV).

Author and speaker Jill Stewart tells of the time her organization had a women’s staff retreat. Jill pictured the women as trees.

There were oaks and firs, rosebushes and holly, all sorts and sizes. Around the campfire at night, the ladies began to talk.  I had no idea what a year of drought it had been for so many of my dear friends. One after another talked of the dry places of disease, of alcohol, of unemployment, of battering and abuse, of widowhood. One had a father who had committed suicide. Another had seen her daughter through an unwanted pregnancy…. It had indeed been a year of drought.

Yet, through it all, their leaves had been green – wet perhaps with tears
of testing, but green! Those precious friends…would be all right – after all,
their roots were in the river!

Jill pictured a tree that was not planted near the river. She called it a worry tree—”an anxious tree, wringing its twigs in frenzy!” We do not have to be worry trees—even in a year of drought. Jeremiah said that if we trust in the Lord, we will be a tree planted by God’s river of supply.

Be encouraged. Jill reminds us that in drought, His river will never run dry. His comfort and guidance will always be ours.[1]

[1] At His Feet: A weekly devotional by Jill Briscoe. Just Between Us magazine, November 23, 2016.