I don’t know much about gardening, but I do know this: If you want something to grow and produce fruit, you have to leave it in one spot long enough for it to put down roots.It seems the principle would also apply to people. Won’t we be most fruitful if we’re allowed to establish “roots” somewhere?
Yet all around me, people are being torn up and replanted in some fashion. One couple I know recently went through a particularly difficult relocation. Another friend is struggling to process a series of unexpected career changes. I’ve experienced smaller upheavals caused by a change in living situations and my closest friend moving halfway across the country. I’d like to think that these sorts of uprootings are just part of the season of life my friends and I are in right now. But I’ve witnessed so many of them over the past several years that I’m beginning to suspect they’re the rule more than the exception.
So when my small group discussed Psalm 1 a couple weeks ago, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy for the fruitful tree “planted by streams of water” (v. 3). We could consistently bear fruit too, I thought, if we got to stay planted in one spot for a while.
And then it hit me what this verse, set within a psalm about meditating on God’s law, was saying: Our rootedness comes from being firmly established in God’s Word and our relationship with Him—not in our circumstances. It's a familiar truth, but it has been particularly meaningful to me as I navigate the various uprootings happening around me.
Specifically, I’ve been holding on to three realities:
- God's in control. According to Acts 17:26-27, He has determined exactly where I and my friends will live and when. He has a purpose for bringing us to new cities, homes, and jobs.
- He is committed to me. Although friends may move away and relationships change, God promises that He will never leave me nor forsake me (Heb. 13:5-6).
- He knows what He’s doing. John 15:1-2 assures me that God is a wise gardener who desires for me to bear much fruit for His glory. So although I may not understand why He’s allowing changes and upheavals, I can trust that they are accomplishing His good purposes.
As I ground myself in these truths, the changes don't feel so unsettling. Rather, I know they are helping me grow deeper roots in God.
Are you experiencing uprootings? If so, I encourage you to ask God which truths from His Word He’d like you to sink yourself into. Then you’ll be able to bear fruit no matter what comes your way.
Dianne Bundt
Editor
DJ Online News
