“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”- Jeremiah 17:7-8
From the outside looking in, I seem to be a pretty grounded girl. I mean I love my family, I had a nice job before the world race began, I stay out of trouble, I go to church…
All of those things seem to establish the formula for being grounded, wouldn't you think?
Up until recently I would agree but over the past few weeks God has transformed my view of what it means to be grounded.
For starters, all the things I mentioned in the beginning are things that can appear to ground us, but with one catch: they are temporary. Family, a job, a moral lifestyle, and church are all great God given things, but when we use the blessings of God to do what only God can do we set ourselves up for failure. Jesus puts it like this from the parable of the sower:
"But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution come because of the word, they quickly fall away." -Mark 4:17
All the things that appear to ground us other than Christ will only let us down in the end when we attempt to use them as our foundation. Eventually when enough trials come the things that looked and felt like roots will fall away and disappoint us.
Gods design for us isn't to leave us disappointed, because as his children he only wants the best for us; and he knows the best can only be found in him alone. Because of this, God is jealous for us, and not just of the "bad things" but over the "good things" too. He never wants us to lose sight of being totally devoted to him, and what I've learned is that the blessings he gave me started to become what I took root in instead of God himself.
Without realizing it I allowed my roots to start growing deeper and deeper into my family, into my job, into my good behavior, and into my church. I began to use the very gifts God blessed me with to define my relationship with Christ. After all I come from a family of mostly believers, I was a youth minister, God replaced my bad behavior with good behavior, and I was faithful to the local church.
Despite the appearance Jesus was crying out to me, "those are good things, but you're loosing sight of the best that can only be found in me."
And so what does Jesus do to lovingly call me back to himself? He loosens my roots that are established in anything other than him. He says to me that my identity is not found in my title, my attendance, my family, or my behavior. My identity is found in him and him alone.
John Piper puts it perfectly in his book, don't waste your life when he says, "God may indeed be loosening your roots in order to transplant you to a place and a ministry where the deep spiritual ambitions of your soul can be satisfied"
Honestly, loosening my roots is a painful process. He loosens my roots to my job by pointing out the pride I carry in my heart based on the title I hold. He loosens my roots to my behavior by showing me that even on my best day my works are like filthy rags at his feet. He loosens my roots to my church attendance by reminding me of the Pharisees that ultimately put Jesus on the cross. And lastly, the most painful part is loosening my roots to my family. This is the most painful because at times, in the eyes of my family, the process looks like bitterness and sometimes even betrayal.
But at the end of the day I know that the pain is worth it. I trust him through my pain and through the pain of my loved ones. I trust that He will give all of us his peace once we all become ready to accept it. He's loosening my roots so that I can be ready when He decides to place me somewhere new so that I can be supremely satisfied in him alone. As that time approaches he is making sure that nothing stands in the way of me getting where he wants me to be.
I will only become truly satisfied when each and every one of my roots are found in him. Not in a title, a behavior, or the approval of my family. While those things are definitely gifts, they aren't necessities. He promises to give us all that we need, and what we all need is all of him, all the time.
" He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" -Romans 8:32
Today I challenge you to ask Abba where your roots are and if any of them are found in his blessings as opposed to Him, ask him to remove them until he's all that you're grounded in. While you're at it, include a prayer of perseverance because weeding can be a painful and tedious process! But rejoice because once the weeds are gone there is more room for the fruit of God to grow and prosper. Fruit that satisfies our souls as well as draws people to himself!
"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." -Colossians 2:6-7
With that being said, here's my newest tattoo. It describes through art what God is instilling in me: he's loosening my roots to everything of this world and showing me how to be rooted and anchored in my Abba!
