As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding, in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7

Planting For Growth

When I was about four years old I remember planting flower seeds on the side of my house. There was an innate awareness to nurture a living thing inside of me, even as a young child.

I distinctly remember checking on my plants several times a day, expecting growth to happen instantaneously. I was disappointed when they did not bloom overnight. I remember the first moment I saw small, green stems began to rise from the earth—I ran in the house to tell my family with a shrill of excitement in my voice. The plants I had been checking on and watering religiously have finally made their appearance.

A few weeks later when they were showing signs of blooming, our landlord mowed right over them while cutting the grass. As tears ran down my rosy cheeks, my mom held me in her arms, trying her best to comfort my broken heart. That year nothing grew in my tiny plot of dirt.

One year later, I was gifted with a surprise; as I was playing in my yard I ran past my little garden patch from the year before, and to my surprise, there were a few flowers in bloom. I was overjoyed and squealed with delight.

Even though the landlord carelessly mowed over my carefully tended garden, there was something more powerful underneath the surface—roots.

Personal Storms

Harsh storms, astringent circumstances, and personal attacks will pose a threat to our growth. Some of you have been through some storms in your life. Someone may have carelessly mowed over your goals, accomplishments, and your tender heart, but there’s something that remained under the surface—resilience, hope, and deep roots.

You may look at the sum of your life’s achievements and failures and think about your purpose. There is hope today to flourish in the future. If we are going to survive the harshness of life and to be fruitful in the Lord, we need to be rooted deeply in His word and in prayer. Christ is our firm foundation; His truth will be our strength when our faith is shaken.

Ways to be rooted in the Lord:

  • Be humble. Know that you have not made it through the storms of life by your own strength, it is the Lord that has kept you every step of the way. Give Him thanks for His provision and strength. (Ephesians 3:16-19; 1 Corinthians 15:58).
  • Have a consistent prayer life. Be more concerned with the regularity of your prayer life than the length of time.
  • Be steadfast. When life shakes your faith, grow your roots deeper by depending on the Lord instead of running from His presence.
  • Read and memorize scripture. Keep the word of God alive in your heart and pray scriptures often.
  • Respect the godly authority in your life. Your Pastor is given by God to shepherd your walk with God. Seek out godly mentors and friendships that will help you become more rooted in the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, I pray that I will remain strong even when storms of life come raging against me. I have been hurt by people who were careless with my heart and dreams. But, Lord, You care about every loss and every victory. Your word says, the righteous will flourish like a palm tree (Psalm 92:12); with every storm that rages in my life, if I am rooted in you, my roots will go deeper and my faith will develop stronger than ever before. Let me be rooted in You today, in Jesus name, amen.

Author

Angela Overton is a lover of words, nature, and coffee. She is an ordained minister with the UPCI, has a Masters Degree in Theology, and loves to teach Bible studies. She and her amazing husband, Michael, pastor in Silver Spring, Maryland.

1 Comment

  1. I really liked how you used the end of your flower story to introduce your point about roots. Beautiful!

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