"And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done."
Usually when I find a verse that speaks to me, I look up cross references to find similar phrasings of the same truth. Ephesians 3:17, 19 says, "I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God."
What a beautiful thing... our roots growing down receiving nourishment from the perfect, rich soil of our Creator's marvelous love. And as our roots reach down, our branches strengthen and blossom with new growth.
This growth doesn't happen on it's own though, and God isn't the one who sinks our roots down. He says, "Let your roots grow down" because in order for us to have a growing relationship with him, we sink our roots into all that He is by seeking him and obeying him. What a place to sink your roots into - a soil that is perfect, the soil where GOD is.
Sink your roots in by trusting. Let them go deep. The deeper you sink them in, the more firmly you will stand.
Do things God's way-
When you are tempted to worry (and thereby ruin your day), trust that God has his eyes on you, that he has a solution in the works. Let that be good enough because it is. Your roots will go deeper and He will work beyond what you could have dreamt up on your own.
When a fear rises up in you and you are tempted to let it stop your forward motion, remember that God has commanded you to be courageous. If he has commanded it, it must mean that there is something great he wants to show you just beyond you being courageous. Don't let fear stop you from sinking your roots in him.
When you face tragedy, count on God to comfort you. Seek him in the pages of your Bible...He will comfort you, and your roots will sink deeper.
When you need daily strength, ask God for it. He will answer, and you will find your roots have gone a little deeper.
Same thing with wisdom for all the situations we face- he just wants us to ask for it, and he will give it.
When you find God nudging you to make the decision that is the obedient one, be obedient. Your roots will go deeper.
Heed the warning God gave in Jeremiah 17:5-6:
"Cursed are ones who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the furture. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives."
And, then in verses 7 & 8, consider the blessing of trusting God.
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He 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."
Every day, each moment we get to choose- shallow, poor, deadening soil or the deep, rich soil of God's marvelous love... hmm :)
No comments:
Post a Comment