I like to say that I was born on Saturday and in church on Sunday. We were at church every time the doors were open. We were there for Sunday School, regular Sunday morning service, Sunday night service, Wednesday night and any other special services. I went to a Christian school during the week where I had a Bible class each day. All of these were sources of enrichment where I learned the Bible. Because I had it fed to me so much, my roots didn’t really go very deep. They had no need to dig down. When the storms of life came, I realized I had been fed, but wasn’t anchored like I should have been.
In Mark 4, Jesus told a parable about a farmer who scattered seeds across his property. Some fell on a dirt footpath, but the ground was so compacted, the seeds stayed on top and were eaten by birds. Some fell on rocky soil. The seeds sprouted quickly, but couldn’t survive the heat because its roots were shallow. Some seeds fell among the thorns and weeds. It sprouted up, but was choked out and didn’t produce anything. Still others fell on good soil where it dug in and produced a lot of crops. Not only is the soil of your heart important, but so is the environment you’re in, the people you’re around and the depth of your roots. A plant is only as strong as its roots.
Colossians 2:7 says, “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness” (NLT). Each of us have to learn how to push through the comfortable layers of enriched top soil from the teachings we have received. Deep roots find anchors to hold onto. They lock onto truths that don’t shift. It’s not enough for us to have surface level Christianity. The way to deeper roots is through sitting in silence with the Lord as you wait on Him. It’s through meditating on His Word and applying it to your life. It’s found as you sit in the tension of faith as you wait on God to move, trusting what He said over what your circumstances are saying. It’s not easy to let your roots grow down deep, but it is a necessary part of our walk with Christ.
Photo by Reinaldo Photography on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 