I want to stand upright when hurricane winds come. “With God, I am strong.”
I want to not be concerned with the earth falling all around me. “God has me.”
I want to not let my fruit not get dried out by circumstances.“God has the best in mind.”
But I don’t, instead I tend to fall over like a redwood with no roots when the winds come. Worry grips me and the crash resounds so loudly in my heart. It’s the weight of I should have done better, I wish I acted differently, I can’t believe I didn’t trust.
But God says, the man who trusts in the Lord is blessed. (Jer. 17:7)
I want to be that woman – full, complete, with entire trust in God.
And what God says in verse 8, really gets my heart pumping for more:
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.” (Jer. 17:8)
We can steer clear of fear, stay green when life gets mean,
not have bouts of doubt in the drought
and share the spirit rather than throw a fit?
Now, I am listening.
If I can just plant my roots down.
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend…and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Eph 3:17-19
One who has faith in Jesus – and believes what he says –
is nearly unreachable by the devil.
One who has their deep earthly arms wrapped around the love of Jesus,
can’t be pulled off of him when circumstances strike.
One who knows the cost of the cross and
draws strength from the purchaser of all sin –
let’s that sacrifice keep them in a place of eternal standing.
One who clenches the truth with all their might, isn’t afraid to some roots show.
They glow to the world and highlight the giver of all sustenance.
One who is rooted, gets the fullness of God,
not just for themselves but to share with the world.
God holds the one upright whose arms reach deeply and steadfastly
into his Word to seek out all that he is.
This one stands tall, firm and powerfully.
All of this gets me wondering,
how can the devil cut down a tree with roots so plentiful,
so deep, so meaningful, so abundant and so apparent?
Must be hard.
When we deeply plant roots into the love of Christ, we become standing trees who raise our branches in continual worship. We suck in the living water of Jesus Christ and are renewed with his life-giving nutrients, embraced by his creation and stand tall in adoration and appreciation.
Deep roots, forged down, grip the heart of Christ; this is where strength is derived.
They extend needily into his sacrifice and hungrily into promises and God blesses that with renewal, replenishment and revival to the world.
From dead and wanting, to fed and giving in the blink of an eye.
From down and discouraged, to up and encouraged through the nails on the cross.
From hopeless and ruined, to hopeful and 100 feet tall through roots that can’t be touched by the world.
God’s fruit becomes our great food bank and it is the best tasting thing after fried ice cream.
I’ll take some of that – and all of the benefits of deep roots.
The bottom line? It comes down to:
I (God) love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. Prov. 8:17
We love God, we seek God, we find God, we find peace, we find life, we find love for others, we find hope in this world, we send it out and nothing can knock us down. Period.
Love = God
God = Love
Love = Deep roots that receive his love.
Love = The way to endure this life.
—
If your a blogger, don’t miss out on the #RaRalinkup. Link up to yesterday’s post.
Liked “How To Keep Standing When The High Winds Hit?” Get all Purposeful Faith blog posts by email – click here.
Kelly,
Sometimes I let my roots become shallow – just skimming the water off the surface. Thank you for the vivid reminder to let my roots sink way down into His love and His word to me. That is truly where deep roots thrive and are then able to withstand any storm. Loved this post!
Blessings,
Bev xx
Yes, Bev, when we sink down into his love he nourishes us with his love that reaches up to the heavens. Much love to you today, dear one.
Kelly, your post brought to mind, “They {those who delight in the Lord} are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.” (Psalm 1:3, NLT) I so love that no matter the season, our lives can bear fruit as our roots go deep & we delight in Him. Blessings to you today!
Yes, Joanne, what a great an applicable verse. I love that. It is so spot on. We can go deep and send out so much to those in need.
“One who has faith in Jesus – and believes what he says – is nearly unreachable by the devil.”
Truly believing this would help Christians rise our of their troubles and set them free. Imagine, a force of holy, God-focused servants, untouchable and unstoppable by the works of the enemy! We could have a world overwhelmed by the power and great love of God!
I am loving the thought of this David! Awesomeness. Thanks for sharing this; it inspires my heart!
Thank you for this encouragement today, Kelly. Such a great place to be – “We suck in the living water of Jesus Christ and are renewed with his life-giving nutrients, embraced by his creation and stand tall in adoration and appreciation.” You have such a special gift with word pictures. 🙂
Hi Trudy, I am glad that you felt encouraged. What a gift it is to know that! Thank you for your sweet compliment too! 😉 May your day be full trust and peace today.
I love this line….Deep roots, forged down, grip the heart of Christ; this is where strength is derived. So so thankful that I find find my strength there! Loved visiting you! Your neighbor at #wordfilledwednesday
Thank you. I am so glad it spoke. Thank you for joining me today.
Loved this post. I shared it on our FB page at Planting Roots: https://www.facebook.com/strength2thrive. It fits so nicely with our ministry theme. Blessings today, Friend.
Ginger, thank you so much for sharing this post. I am overjoyed that you liked it. You are right, it does fit your ministry theme so well. I hope they like it.
Dear Kelly, I read this article yesterday, I came over to read it again. Thank you for the analogy you gave. The devil certainly can’t cut down a tree with deep roots.
Thank you for visiting my blog. I sincerely appreciate your visit and kind comments.
Many Blessings Kelly.
Wow this are awesome……so encouraging im going to share on my fb
Thanks for sharing Sacha! I hope it speaks to all those you share it with!
[…] More @ purposefulfaith.com […]