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Streams in the Desert, August 21
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a
cedar in Lebanon.
Psalm 92:12
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See the weary traveler toiling over the hot sand of the desert, with
no shelter to protect him from the rays of the tropical sun. His water
supply fails, and he has nothing with which to slake his burning thirst.
His tongue becomes swollen; he staggers like a drunken man. Visions of
home and friends pass before his mind as he believes himself ready to
perish. Suddenly he sees in the distance, rising out of the dreary sandy
waste, a palm tree, green and flourishing. Hope quickens his pulses; he
presses on, knowing that that which gives vigor and freshness to the palm
tree will cool his fevered blood and give him renewed life.
As is the palm tree in the desert—a guide and consolation to the
fainting traveler—so the Christian is to be in the world. He is to guide
weary souls, full of unrest, and ready to perish in the desert of sin, to the
living water. He is to point his fellow men to Him who gives to all the
invitation, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”
The sky may be as brass, the burning sand may beat about the palm
tree’s roots and pile itself about its trunk; yet the tree lives on, fresh and
vigorous. Remove the sand, and you discover the secret of its life; its
roots strike down deep into waters hidden in the earth.
Thus it is with the Christian. His life is hid with Christ in God. Jesus
is to him a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life. His faith,
like the rootlets of the palm tree, penetrates beneath the things that are
seen, drawing life from the Fountain of life. And amid all the corruption
of the world he is true and loyal to God. The sweet influence of Christ’s
righteousness surrounds him....
The faces of men and women who walk and work with God express
the peace of heaven. They are surrounded with the atmosphere of heaven.
For these souls the kingdom of God has begun. They have Christ’s joy,
the joy of being a blessing to humanity. They have the honor of being
accepted for the Master’s use; they are trusted to do His work in His name.
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