How Deeply Rooted Are You?



Dear Friends,

A friend was telling me recently that a big tree with many roots had been blown over, uprooted by the recent strong winds we have been experiencing.  I voiced my surprise that this had happened if it had many roots but my friend explained that it was because the roots had been just under the surface rather than going deep in the soil.  The deep roots are what helps a tree to withstand storms and keep secure. 

Do you know that the bible likens us to trees?  It says in Psalm 1:3 that "Those who meditate on God’s word and delight in it are like trees: They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.  Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do." (NLT)  The Amplified Bible puts it like this: "And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]."

Are you "firmly planted [and tended]?  If we are it means that although we will still experience storms in our life, we are more able to withstand them, and not be uprooted by them because we are securely rooted and have anchorage . 

So what  or who do we need to be rooted in?  Jeremiah 17:7-8a tells us "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.  They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.  Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." (NLT)

This tells me that we need to be rooted in God, he is the source of our faith, our hope, our confidence, he is the one in whom we trust.  We can rely on him to help us withstand any storm.  We are secure in him and he provides us with stability.

Paul writes to the Ephesians about being deeply rooted in love and having love as our firm foundation, grounded in the love God has for us and gives us.  "May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].  May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love"  Ephesians 3:16-17 (NLT).

When Paul writes to the Colossians he again uses the imagery of a rooted tree to explain that we are to be securely and deeply rooted in Christ. "Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving."  Colossians 2:7 (AMP)

The roots of a tree absorb water and other nutrients from the soil to feed the tree so that it can grow to maturity.  So too for us, being rooted in Christ, connected with him, will help us to grow to spiritual maturity.  The Holy Spirit within us gives us the power and resources we need so that we flourish and grow to become all that God intended us to be.  No-one sees the roots, they are hidden in Christ, but the evidence of them should be seen - as we grow in our faith, as we love others as Christ loves us, as we trust and rely on him, as we live with confidence and hope and as others see how we respond and keep standing despite whatever storm we are experiencing.

To Think About:
What "storms of life" have you experienced?

What has enabled you to keep standing?

How can you, in practical terms, keep yourself rooted in Christ?

 

Vicki