Rooted

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”  Jeremiah 17:7, 8

While doing some weeding in my yard, I discovered that an acorn had gotten into a potted plant (probably stashed there by a squirrel) and a tiny start of an oak tree began to take up residence. I really don’t like to destroy any living plant (except weeds) but this was not a good place for an oak tree to take root and grow. As I gently teased this wee little “tree” up and out of the ground, I was stunned to see how deep its roots had grown. The little guy was only four to five inches high above ground, but the overall length was twenty inches! That’s four times deeper than it was higher! I can see why oak trees are so strong and stable and why they are referred to as “mighty oaks.”

What a picture of what our spiritual lives should look like: new life deeply rooted in Jesus, reaching down to find that Living Water, “that we may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3).

As we meditate on His Word, we will find that our delight is in the Lord (Psalm 1:2), and we will become like a tree planted by streams of water whose leaves do not wither, and yields its fruit in its season (Psalm 1:3). The root of an oak tree goes deep, it is made strong and stable by enduring the harshness of winter storms as well as the heat and drought of summer; even so the Fruit of the Spirit is not nurtured in a sheltered greenhouse.

“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).

May we be like the psalmist who declares in Psalm 42:1, 2b, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

Lord, we need to be deeply rooted in You. Give us a hunger and thirst for Your righteousness that we may honor You and be fruitful in due season. Amen.