Unfinished...

(technically day 29 of 40... it took me this long to absorb this concept to be able to get my thoughts out. ;-) 

Jeremiah 17:7-8

“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

Colossians 2:7

New Living Translation (NLT)

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

 Some things take longer than others.

Have you ever seen a tree with all the roots pulled up?

An intertwined mess… but solid enough that its next to impossible to tear down completely.

Only when the tree is dead can the roots be pulled up and revealed.

That tree knew who it was. What place it belonged to and there was no moving it until it died.

The knowledge of who it was caused its roots to grow down deep into the earth to portray a stability.

Because that is what a tree is created to do.

To be stable and provide shelter and fruit…

The same is true for us as Christians.

We need to be SO grounded in the word of God.

Know WHO we are and what we are created to do.

We need to be SO firm and set in the place where God has us – and this does not change with ever wind and whim – and be exactly who He has meant us to be.

When we know who we are and let our roots grow down deep into the truth and the word of God, we will know who we are in Jesus. We will be a picture of the stability and shelter of who God really is as our Father. We will reach out and shelter those in need.

And we will bear fruit.

John 15:4-5

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

So let me ask you this question.

Where are you in this picture?

Have you let your roots grow down deep?

Are you planted in the place God chose for you?

It takes some longer than others… so don’t lose heart.

Think of a tree. It takes decades for a tree to grow into everything God created it to be.

Most of the time you can’t even see the growth! Any roots growing down deep into the earth are unseen… in the same way so much of our growth is unseen.

Trees are always changing and growing and bearing fruit or being pruned…

It’s necessary to be pruned. But if God sends a hurtful situation into our lives it is mostly just cuz He knows we need it in order to take us to the next level of growth.

Here’s the key…

DON’T GIVE UP!

Every time you think it’s too hard to go on…

Keep going anyways.

Everything takes time… His time.

We often rush ourselves and try to get ahead of God and compare our own walk to others…

We can’t do that.

I could go on and on writing about this… but because I too am just a product of His grace in my life, I’m just going to leave you with one verse. A portion of a letter from a man whose life was radically changed by the presence of God and he spent the rest of it travelling and telling people of God’s grace and  love… and even suffered prison because of his devotion to Jesus.

His name was Paul… here are some words he wrote to the church in Philippi.

“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Philippians 1:3-6

Don’t lose heart because you are unfinished…

Be excited for how God is growing your roots down deep! J