Deep Roots

A beautiful, beautiful, beautiful plant. Such a sight to behold. Nothing really beats that effervescent glow and dance of light that presents this almost impeccable beauty. All that gold, purple, red, and blue - just pleasant to behold. From its very top, it holds a crown of petals. Greenery starts to unveil itself as you go down the stem, and tracing through wads of glory, you discover that this plant goes all the way down to the soil. It seems to actually keep going, doesn’t it? This plant is anchored all the way inside the soil and it’s this anchor that gives it juice and nourishments to grow. I like plants, they have roots. I think there’s a lot to learn from plants.

So plants have roots and it seems roots are the life force of plants. I mean plants can’t really get their nourishment from anywhere else except they are attached sufficiently beneath the soil. So no roots, no nourishment, and no nourishment, no bloom, no beauty, no fruit. I’m having this conversation because I realize that this is the same for people as well, especially those who serve God. We need to be sufficiently planted to bear fruit.

I want to simply highlight what it means to have deep roots, why having deep roots are important, and how we, the children of God, can have deep roots.

What does it mean to have deep roots?

Having deep roots means being planted in Christ and letting him be the foundation of your life.

Col 2: 6 - 7 (CEV)

6 You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him. 7 Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful.

Col 2: 6 -7 highlights two things: that having accepted Christ is one thing but there is such as thing as “keep following” and letting Him be the foundation of your life. You see letting Christ be the foundation of your life means letting everything be about Him. Yes, everything. Nothing held back. A foundation is the base that everything else stands. In the structure of your life, are parts of it firmly placed on the foundation or hanging by the thread of your will? Having deep roots means nurturing your relationship of sonship, taking time to understand your relationship with God and walking in it. It means agreeing with God’s will by getting to know him and the power of His love. It means inviting him to your space and allowing His power to show forth in you. It is full surrender and hunger for Him; in this posture, we grow deep in Him.

Why is it important to have deep roots?

1. Deep roots bring clarity. Clarity comes from knowing who you are and being confident in your identity. Building our lives on Jesus means that we place our bets on who God is and what He is saying about us. Take for example, a woman realizes psalm 139: 14 and says, God says I am beautifully and wonderfully made and that I am His beloved so I’m gonna turn my face from the negative talks of low self-esteem and voices of the past and focus on the Word of God. I might not feel like it but the Word of God is more sure than my feelings so I’m gonna believe what God says about me instead. She then has a transformation in her Spirit and suddenly she knows who she is now and acts accordingly. She has placed the structure of her being on the sure foundation of the rock of ages. The more we do this in every part of our lives the more we discover who we are and our calling to the saints, the church, and our sphere of influence (Col 2:2).

2. Deep roots mean walking in sonship and bearing fruits. Only by growing deep roots can we have an understanding of who God says we are and walk in His promises for our lives (Psalm 1:1 - 3).

How can we grow deep roots?

Growing deep roots is a joyful dance of gaining God’s perspective from His word, believing it, and putting our faith in it such that we take action in building our lives around it. In this joyful dance, our heart's posture must be of hunger and passionate desire for Him.

This dance is hopefully highlighted with the three points below:

• Gain God’s perspective on everything. Take time to search His Word for what He says about everything in your life. How to raise your children; how to do your job; how to interact with your co-workers; how to deal with that troublesome family member; how to love your family; how to love your husband or wife; how to do life. Friends let God’s perspective power your daily schedule.

• Take action. This is the step that shows you agree with heaven’s point of view. The bible says faith without works is dead (James 2:17 - 22). Your action is a testimony to all things seen and unseen that you believe the word of God, and it is that action that connects heaven to earth. It works when you’re believing God for his intervention in your life and when you’re simply asking for more of Him (I Sam 15: 22 - 23).

• Hunger and passionate desire for Him. You express your hunger and passionate desire for God in three areas: your prayer life, your worship and your obedience.

  • A vibrant prayer life is the secret to deep intimacy with God. Prayer is a two-way conversation with the God of heaven. In any relationship we need to communicate regularly and be good listeners to nourish it. It is not different with God. He is your father and you are his son (or daughter). He wants to converse with you, He wants to hear your voice.

  • Spending quality time worshiping God in genuineness of heart and with an understanding of who He is (John 4: 24) wraps you in God’s tangible presence. I tell you in His presence you will receive unusual anointing for more in your life. The Word says in His presence is fullness of joy and at thy right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16: 11). Spend time in His presence in worship and watch things like depression, confusion and heaviness melt away.

  • Obedience is extremely important in learning more from God. Obedience brings your walk of faith to another dimension. When you obey instructions you receive from God whether directly from the Word or prompts in your spirit, you show God that He can trust you with more. This also ties closely with taking action as your obedience is confirmed in your action.

Friends, my prayer is that you take time to consider the state of your lives today and consider building it on Jesus. He wants you to have a flavorful life full of clarity, deliverance, and sonship. As always, feel free to send me a message I'd love to hear from you and what's going on with you.