Week Seven Blog for the Rooted Bible Study. Learn more about Rooted here.
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7 & 8
God has been teaching me that everything in my life is based on perspective, not circumstances. There was a time in my life where I felt like I was withered. I saw the drought and I forgot that Jesus was under me supplying my every need. I didn’t realize how far Jesus’s roots extended to bring life giving water to me. Instead, I focused on my fears and anxieties. I was drowning in anxiety instead of drinking from the living well. I was trusting in my own understanding of my circumstances, not the one who controls it all.
God promises us that if we trust in the Lord and hope in Him alone, we will be like a tree planted by the waters. We wont be phased by harsh circumstances because our roots supply life giving water. God doesn’t say bad things will never come. He does say we still can flourish amidst the suffering.
How do we flourish amidst suffering?
We let go and let God. We trust that God’s ways are far above ours. We believe that He really does have a perfect plan for us. I often find myself wondering where the balance is. Where do I draw the line between trusting in God and living life? I think we do need to set boundaries and work at accomplishing goals and dreams. However, I believe the line is when we are unwilling to surrender our own outcome or vision to God. If we go chugging along in our sufferings and frustrations without first surrendering the outcome to God, we will most likely stay frustrated. We need to be willing to let God have His way above our own thoughts. He will direct us and sustain us through anything. It is our job to trust Him even when we don’t understand what He is doing. We have to believe that our root, Jesus Christ, is reaching to water when we see no water for miles. I have found in my own life the harder I fight to do what makes sense to me, the more fatigued and down I become. When I instead choose to believe God has a plan that I may not understand, I find rest.
Does the feeling of struggle magically go away? No it doesn’t. I may choose surrender, but still wonder what in the world to do. I may believe God is working everything out for good and still wonder how. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is a way to make our human feelings go away. However, by choosing to envision our root extending to waters we can’t see, we can focus on trust. When we trust in God and believe His ways are perfect, we can be sustained and continue moving forward despite the discouragement.
I just recently went through a period of discouragement. I felt tired and just wanted to throw in the towel on something. I wondered if I heard God right. I asked Him why my feelings of discouragement weren’t gone. Why, when I know the truth that He sustains me, do I keep falling short? I chose to fight for hope. I chose to believe that God had a plan for this discouragement. Unfortunately my actions didn’t always follow. Despite this, I kept saying sorry and kept seeking Him out. After about two weeks of wading through this discouragement (as I write a study on rising above discouragement might I add) God spoke to me in a strong way through a sermon. Through that period my husband and I also had some great talks on the subject and dove into things that needed to be talked about.
As I look back on that discouragement, I see failings yes, but I also see God working. I can see how He helped me through it and taught me lessons because of it. I came through it stronger and more in tune with His purpose for me.
Sometimes we go through discouragement and suffering because we need to overcome some things. Sometimes God wants to get our attention and speak to us. Whatever the reason for the hard time, we can ALWAYS rest in the truth that God can be trusted. His ways are so far above ours. We may never understand them and that is ok. He has given us His Word that He is working it all out for our good. He has given us the promise that Jesus sustains us and we will always flourish–even when we can’t see how. I pray today that we can all view hard times and annoying moments as an opportunity to know God more. I pray we can see it as a chance to trust in our root system to sustain us through the droughts that come our way. He can be trusted. Even if that trust comes hard for us, He will teach us how if we simply yield ourself to Him.
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