Be Rooted in Christ...
January 6, 2021 will forever be remembered as a day that brought clarity to my heart and mind. Friends, we live in “such a time as this” for a reason.
I woke up yesterday morning with the word ROOTED at the forefront of my mind. It’s the word that the Lord has been speaking to me through His Word for the last few weeks.
I know He is speaking this to me for a purpose and little did I know it would mean so much that this word was permeating through my mind. So much so that I wrote several pages of thoughts down in my journal that I know the Holy Spirit was speaking into my life, all before I turned on my phone, looked at IG or saw any news from the day.
So I feel like it’s something I should be sharing with you too…
But before I do, if you’ve followed me in the past, then you know for many years I have started the year out with a WORD… some call it “One Little Word” (#OLW from Ali Edwards) or a “Word of the Year” that was started back in the 1970’s in Germany. It started in my scrapbooking days when I worked in the industry, but it has evolved as I have brought this idea into my devotional time and have prayed for the Lord to direct this word. I wanted it to be about Him and what He wanted me to focus on or learn more about in the year that followed. So starting in 2015 I began this as more of a faith journey with the following words as the years progressed:
2015: Closer
2016: Dwell
2017: Hopeful
2018: Stretched
2019: Purpose
2020: Prepare
For 2021 I thought it was going to be the word WORKMANSHIP, but then felt the Lord bringing up the word ROOTED almost daily in my bible devotional time. So…
This word “rooted” in scripture means a deep and firmly planted relationship (or abiding) with Christ.
It was so neat to see this word come alive in my own devotional time. Last week this idea of abiding and firmly planted was on my mind as I went to sleep one night and I couldn’t make sense of it all at the time. I know the Lord was trying to tell me something but it was all a jumble of words in my head for some reason. Then as I woke up the next morning it flowed so freely and I wrote the word ROOTED in my journal as I was writing my thoughts down. Then, I started my Bible reading, which was in Colossians 2... and guess what word was in that part of scripture?
“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
Love how the Lord speaks to us THROUGH His Word. 🙌🏻
For the last week I have been praying and asking the Lord to show me what He wants me to learn from this and here’s what I wrote in my journal this morning:
Psalm 73 is a great reminder when your heart is weary from this world we live in. (Take some time to read it today)
We live in the times the Bible speaks about where evil is called good and good is evil. Where darkness is preferred over light. (Isaiah 5:20) & (2 Tim. 3) The world is upside down and as believers in Jesus Christ we need to be ROOTED in Him in order to find our hope, identity, contentment and purpose in these last days.
When we let sin take root, it causes us to look horizontally… to look to the world for the things that can only be found vertically.
So we must ask ourselves where are we putting down roots? Where are we firmly planted?
This world was created by God, and it is amazing. (Right now it breaks my heart to see the world we live in though) But this world was NEVER intended to satisfy our hearts, it was NOT created to be worshiped or absorbed in. It was made to point us UP… to the only One who can truly satisfy. To see that there is only One who can give us all that we desire… in life, love, peace, purpose, meaning and hope! And when we finally come to the place of being content with the Giver and Sustainer of life, that is when we will be truly satisfied with our lives. This is when we will have true joy and real gratitude, despite what is happening in this world or what trials we may be facing.
So how can we come to this place of contentment? How do we become ROOTED in Christ Jesus?
David finds the answer in Psalm 73:16-17: “But when I thought how to understand this (why the wicked prospered) it seemed to me a wearisome task… UNTIL I went into the sanctuary of God…”
I love this word UNTIL.
Friends it is a choice again. (just like I talked about yesterday)
Until we choose to truly seek God, stay by His side, and make Him our sanctuary we won’t be rooted in Him. We won’t realize we get to have the strength and power of God living in us, in this crazy world we live in. We won’t remember that this life is only temporary… And we won’t have clarity in the world we live in now. Our roots will not be firmly planted in God’s Word, His truths and His grace, and we will continue to seek what the world seeks, demand what the world gives and any roots we had will dry up and blow away like dust. (Isaiah 5:24)
I love what David says as he ends Psalm 73:
“But for me it is good to be near God, I have made the Lord God my refuge, THAT I may tell of all your works. Psalm 73:28.
Friends, it is WHY we live at this time and point in history. Like I stated at the beginning of this post, we are alive at such a time as this for a reason. Just like why Paul was alive in his day and Spurgeon was alive in his day and we are alive in this day. I’ve said this before and I will repeat it here… We were put here for a purpose and this is:
To tell of God’s love and grace to a world that desperately needs Him.
It’s why I talk so much about writing your story. It’s why I teach that at our retreats and share my testimony. It’s why I’m writing a book about what God has done in my life. We are meant to share what He has done and is doing and it is time to be BOLD in that friends.
I will be delving deeper into this word ROOTED this year and plan to do a Bible study on it as well. I hope you will join me this year as we press forward together with Christ as our foundation, being rooted in Him, able to walk in what He has prepared for us to do.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
Hugs to all,
Laura McCollough