On Being Rooted and Grounded in Your Faith.
“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 2:7
I think that every one at some point in their life will have an event in their life that they feel shakes them to their core. Or you may have someone who constantly criticizes, or who tries to undermine you, or who steps in and changes your whole life – not for the good.
Events come in every one’s life – good and bad. Some of these events are anticipated and others seemingly come out of the blue without our expecting it. And we’re shaken, hurt, scared, depressed, tired or all of the above and then some.
How do we endure these events? How do we continue to stand? How do we continue to have hope and find in joy in our hearts…to praise God AND to praise Him for even these difficult events?
We are rooted and grounded in our faith.
What does it mean?
When I think of being rooted and grounded, my first thoughts go to trees and in this particular case the Willow tree. A Willow tree that is planted by a water source will be strong and will thrive.
We too need to be ‘planted‘ first in Christ.
The first thing we must do is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. And God has made it so very, very simple for us – just believe.
“So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts: 16:31
We are ‘planted’ in Him and now have the Holy Spirit indwelling us.
This begins the relationship. In growing this relationship we have to develop it…that is to spend time with Christ in prayer and in reading the word. One thing I believe too that we cannot miss out on is the fellowship of believers. We need one another.
“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19
Growth is Deliberate
“Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.”
I Timothy 4:15
I am a firm believer in the necessity of time spent alone with God. I’ve gone for days at a time without reading or praying and can attest to the affect on my mind and on my spirit. I get tired physically and mentally. I get discouraged more easily. I have even at times felt hopeless. Because my focus wasn’t where it should have been. My focus was on temporal things…those daily things and even at times those events that could discourage us.
We have to be deliberate each day in our need to spend time with God…it is a deep need. To grow, as our example of the Willow tree – we MUST reach our roots deep, deep down to where we can access the water – of faith – and – of love in Christ.
God gives us His Strength – His Peace – His Love and His Joy
“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” Colossians 2:6-7
We need to walk in Him, Walk with Him…and follow Him.
“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” Ezekiel 36:27
The Holy Spirit’s indwelling after our receiving Christ as our Savior was promised long before Jesus walked this earth. And, Jesus promised himself.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” John 16:13
The Holy Spirit will Teach, Help, Comfort and Instruct Us
Jesus told his disciples that it was better that he would return to the Father in Heaven. Because, when He did, the Holy Spirit would come and would indwell us always to guide us. So, God truly gave of Himself so that we can grow – our roots can deepen and we can become strong in our faith and in our love.
On being Grounded
Here’s the beautiful thing. When we believe we begin our life of faith in God. We are planted firmly in Him and that planting is not on unstable soil. We are planted in the Rock that is Christ.
“And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.” Psalm 78:35
When the Troubles of Life Come
“You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival, And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute, To go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.” Isaiah 30:39
The troubles of life will come – both big and small. You need to be ready and prepared.
Remember: You now belong to Him and His love is beyond comprehension. God sees the beginning and the ending of all things…and nothing takes Him by surprise. He will give of Himself to you…through it all
“You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival, And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute, To go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.” Isaiah 30:39
Not only can we endure difficulties – we can abound in them – in a good way.
- Abound in faith and knowledge – II Corinthians 8:7, 9:8
- Abound in hope -Romans 15:13
- Abound in truth – Psalm 119:16, John 17:17
- Abound in love – Deuteronomy 6:5, I Thessalonians 3:12, Philippians 1:9
- Abound in grace – II Corinthians 9:8, Romans 5:15
- Abound in joy – Psalm 16:11, John 15:11
We will have those ‘No Matter What’ moments.
When those very difficult moments come that we in our selves don’t want and we feel alone and perhaps hopeless…we need to come to those – no matter what determinations in our hearts. I have been there. I have been in hard, difficult times where mentally I envisioned myself planting my feet (roots) firmly in my faith in God and determining – ‘no matter what God – I will believe, I will love and I will follow YOU’. We let go of any of the power these difficult moments have upon us and give ourselves over completely to God – by faith we trust Him.
When I did have those moments and turned all my trust and faith in God – I had confidence that no matter what – God loved me – no matter what – God had purpose for me and for these difficult times. In my heart I determined I would continue to love God and to love others – to serve Him and to shine for Him in these times – so that others may see His light shining through me.
These difficult times and people will not last forever. It may seem so and it may seem that sorrow envelopes us…but, continue in faith. Continue in building your relationship with God by prayer and spending time with His word. You will begin to see beyond these events and people. You will begin to see the totality of life is not about events, people or things…life leads to eternity – and that eternity will be so much more amazing than we can imagine. And I love to just imagine.
Seek God in all you do. Spend as much time with Him as you can each day – be encouraged and seek to encourage others...
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” I Corinthians 15:58
“that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,” Colossians 2:2
Be encouraged, my dear friend. The love of God is so complete and so fulfilling…there is joy, love and peace in this relationship we have – beyond our comprehension. You can come through these times and events of life – with deeper strength, knowledge, faith and hope – and joy. I know it. But, don’t rely on me…dig in, plant your own roots of faith DEEP and read, pray and seek God completely so that you can know for your self just how marvelous He is.