I moved to Ft Worth about 6 weeks ago and one of my favorite things about my apartment is my access to the river. I live in a building on the banks of the Clearfork of the Trinity and only have to walk about 25 feet from my front door to have access to the Trinity Trails system and the river itself.
But my love for the river pales in comparison to that of my dog. He loves our walks on the trails, greeting the other dogs and people out exercising, chasing the squirrels running beneath the large trees growing on the banks, or just watching the cranes and herons that come to catch fish. We both love it because of the activity that goes on around it. It’s a hub with parks, restaurants, retail space, green space, housing, and recreational opportunities all around.
There’s a reason that so many cities are settled along rivers, but none more important than the water itself. Whether for drinking water or irrigating crops rivers are an essential source of life-giving water. The Bible is filled with imagery of living water and rivers and my favorite is in the Book of Jeremiah.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 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
and never fails to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8
This passage reminds us that it is God who sustains us, and Jesus tells us many times that he is living water. In this season I think it has become easy for us to feel like our roots are untethered. Things that have defined us like careers, social circles, etc.. have been shaken by a pandemic. But this passage reminds us that our roots anchor us best when our trust is in God. We can weather both storm and drought when our roots run deep and we are sustained by living water.
Written By: Jason Ivie