I sat down in my living room, early one morning with a pencil, paper, and my Bible in hand. For me, quiet time with the Lord and sleeping babies is the perfect combination. My little slice of heaven. This particular morning as I began to pray and read, the word ROOT jumped to the front of my mind. On my paper, I wrote God and The Root, side by side, as if one in the same. Beside that I listed what the word ROOT meant to me. I wrote root OF ALL THINGS, rooted IN ALL THINGS, ANCHORING all things, SUPPLYING life, and SUSTAINING life.
A root by definition means anchorage or support, the heart or the essential core. Roots are used to keep straight and stable. And they are necessary and vital for growth, development, and repair. Knowing these things, then isn’t that exactly what Jesus is for us? For me, the answer is plain and simple. YES, of course He is! Jesus is our anchor. Jesus is our support. He keeps us straight and stable in the dirt and grit of this sin filled world. He is the provider of both spiritual and physical growth. He is the healer and great physician when we are broken. Whether we accept His gift or not, Jesus is waiting and longing to be the giver and sustainer of joyous, abundant life in Christ!
But after giving this more thought, I was forced to ask myself some tough questions. Will I let Christ take root in my life today? Not tomorrow, not next week, not later when its convenient, but today- right this moment, here and now? Realizing that He’s given himself to me as a gift, will I allow God to be firmly rooted in every single aspect of my life? Let Him be the anchor to my whole world? My marriage, my home, my work, my friendships, my hobbies, what about the music I listen to? Pressing in a little deeper and even more personal, what about my relentless, constant battle with worry and anxiety? Definitely one of my biggest struggles.
Matthew 6:25, 26 reads, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into the barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
If God can love and care for every little bird then don’t I trust in my Lord enough to let go of my worries and anxieties? January 2nd of My Utmost For His Highest {a daily devotional book by Oswald Chambers} says, “Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think about how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God…” Do I trust enough to know that HE’S GOT THIS ALL UNDER CONTROL even when I don’t?! When I really put myself under the microscope, I must admit, I fall short. But I don’t want to. I want to trust. I want to surrender. I want to invite Him into every piece of my life.
Colossians 2:6, 7 says “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Recently, I must confess, I’ve been very convicted about being intentional. Being more purposeful. I want to be intentional with my time. Of course, time with my family. But most importantly, intentional about my time spent with the Lord. Frankly, spending more time with the Lord. Can’t I be more intentional, more purposeful and allow Christ to plant roots in every aspect of my life?
Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Am I seeking Jesus as my anchor? Am I allowing Him to take root in my life?
Matthew 6:25, 26 reads, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into the barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
If God can love and care for every little bird then don’t I trust in my Lord enough to let go of my worries and anxieties? January 2nd of My Utmost For His Highest {a daily devotional book by Oswald Chambers} says, “Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think about how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God…” Do I trust enough to know that HE’S GOT THIS ALL UNDER CONTROL even when I don’t?! When I really put myself under the microscope, I must admit, I fall short. But I don’t want to. I want to trust. I want to surrender. I want to invite Him into every piece of my life.
Colossians 2:6, 7 says “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Recently, I must confess, I’ve been very convicted about being intentional. Being more purposeful. I want to be intentional with my time. Of course, time with my family. But most importantly, intentional about my time spent with the Lord. Frankly, spending more time with the Lord. Can’t I be more intentional, more purposeful and allow Christ to plant roots in every aspect of my life?
Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Am I seeking Jesus as my anchor? Am I allowing Him to take root in my life?
As I continued to think of Christ in terms of roots. My mind was drawn to storms. And from there I thought about seasons. Currently, my life would be best described as spring (also known as tornado season) or possibly even fall (hurricane season). While both seasons are full of beauty and visible, obvious signs of God’s handiwork, there are also plenty of storms. Much like my life right now. Because we are human and live in a sin filled world, I know all or most of you can relate. But Christ tells us to expect storms in this life. The storms of suffering are necessary and character building.
Romans 5:3-5 tells us “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
My backyard was, for a very long time, full of azaleas. A beautiful, breathtaking sight for 2 weeks out of the year. We recently made the difficult, bittersweet decision to remove the azaleas from the center of my backyard in search of a more kid friendly, snake free environment. These azaleas have weathered many storms. 30-40 years worth of storms most likely, which tells me…they had good, strong roots. Roots so strong and so deep, we had to pull them up by way of tractor and chain. These roots supplied nourishment, sustained life, and anchored the azaleas deep into the earth. Storms are going to come. The enemy will do literally anything to attack and destroy. We, much like the azaleas, need to be firmly rooted, fed by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. Firmly rooted in Christ, the giver and sustainer of life here on earth and life everlasting. When the inevitable storms come, don’t be pulled up by the enemy! I pray you grab hold of your roots and hang on for dear life! It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be worth it!
Romans 5:3-5 tells us “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
My backyard was, for a very long time, full of azaleas. A beautiful, breathtaking sight for 2 weeks out of the year. We recently made the difficult, bittersweet decision to remove the azaleas from the center of my backyard in search of a more kid friendly, snake free environment. These azaleas have weathered many storms. 30-40 years worth of storms most likely, which tells me…they had good, strong roots. Roots so strong and so deep, we had to pull them up by way of tractor and chain. These roots supplied nourishment, sustained life, and anchored the azaleas deep into the earth. Storms are going to come. The enemy will do literally anything to attack and destroy. We, much like the azaleas, need to be firmly rooted, fed by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. Firmly rooted in Christ, the giver and sustainer of life here on earth and life everlasting. When the inevitable storms come, don’t be pulled up by the enemy! I pray you grab hold of your roots and hang on for dear life! It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be worth it!
Will you let Christ take root in your life today?
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