The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. Psalm 92:12-13, NIV.
When I was a little girl growing up in Canada I was part of an environmental club at my Elementary School. One year there was a school-wide initiative to plant more trees. They gave every student a little evergreen to replant in a place of our choice. Excitedly, I took my tree home and began looking for the perfect place to plant my fledgling sapling, which just so happened to be in my backyard. Sadly, after only a week, my perfect tree began to die. Determined to see my little sapling grow, my dad uprooted the evergreen, put it in the back of our Jeep and we drove to the forest near one of our fishing spots.
We tagged it, dug a very deep hole, and replanted my little tree, watered it, and hoped that it would take root. My dad and I checked on it every so often and to my amazement, it began to grow. Year after year we would go back to our fishing spot and walk through the forest looking for a little red tag atop my tree. It didn’t take long to grow taller than me.
My little tree’s roots went deep and began to connect to the other trees in the forest. In unity, they withheld one another through the strong winds, rainstorms, and heavy New Brunswick winters.
I learned, without roots, a plant cannot grow.
The psalmist in Psalm 92 parallels a deep-rooted tree to those who have deep roots in the Lord. He teaches the importance of being planted in a place that is conducive to growth.
There will be times when God will uproot us because the place we are planted is stunting our growth. Being uprooted is uncomfortable and, at times, a traumatic experience. It is God’s grace that will cause discomfort for one season so we can thrive in many seasons of life and weather any storm during the in-between.
The condition of our spiritual roots will determine a healthy or dysfunctional relationship with God.
If you feel like your soul is languishing, maybe it’s time to replant your roots in the Lord so you can flourish even through dismal circumstances. Like my little tree, root yourself in the word of God and in prayer daily, and connect yourself with the people of God so you can endure the storms of life together.
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