Yesterday I took a drive through Caledonia State Park.
As I drove up the mountain, I was surprised by the beauty of the forest and how tall the trees were.
There were many fallen trees scattered throughout the forest–evidence that there had to have been strong winds or a storm at some point.
When I drove around a bend, I saw one of the biggest trees I’d ever seen knocked over, with its roots planted in a circle of dirt vertically. If I would’ve gotten out and stood in front of this massive fallen tree, the roots and dirt standing in the air were so big they would’ve looked like a giant wall behind me.
I thought to myself, “What would’ve caused such a massive tree to fall over like that–roots and all?”
After all, there were much, much smaller trees still standing tall. If a giant wind had come through and knocked down a giant tree like I was seeing, wouldn’t it have also knocked down the ones much smaller?
But it all came down to the roots.
You see, no matter how giant that tree may have been, it could’ve easily been knocked over by the right wind gust if its roots were shallow. The roots of a tree are the thing that gives that strong tree the ability to stand tall and withstand many storms and winds. The roots are what make it truly strong.
Sometimes we can feel a little bit like that giant tree that was knocked over.
When life’s storms become harsh and we feel like the strong winds of trials or suffering are going to knock us over, how are we going to withstand them? How deep are our roots?
In life, there are so many voices trying to tell us how to live or how to act or how to be happy. And we get distracted by their lies–so distracted by all of the things that could never actually fulfill us or make us strong. Maybe they’ll make us feel good or look good on the surface. Just like that tree I saw looked beautiful on the surface and looked strong enough to withstand any wind.
But when we really get down to the roots–those voices we try to listen to from Facebook or Instagram or the news or even ourselves and our own selfish desires–we find that those things only set us up to look good on the surface and never gave us stability to withstand the storms and winds of life. They’ve only lied to us.
John 17:17 says, “Teach them Your Word which is truth.” And John 14:6 tells us, “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.'”
If we are going to withstand the storms and winds raging in our lives at times, we are going to have to have deep roots of truth in our lives. Where do we get that truth? From the Word of God and from our relationship with Jesus.
So how do we build deep roots of truth in our lives?
1. Read God’s Word daily. We need to consistently be in the Word of God–receiving the truth about who He is, who we are in Him, and how we can live to glorify Him.
2. Spend time in prayer. Prayer is our direct line of communication to God.
3. Rely on God’s strength. The more we rely on God and His ability to hold us, be with us, and strengthen us through every storm of life that we face, the deeper are roots in Him can grow.
It is only through the truth we find in God’s Word and our relationship with Him that we are able to build roots that help us stand firm against the winds and storms of this life.
How deep are your roots?
The Good Shepherd Ministries 