A Heart Abiding in God's Word -- Part 2

Our Heavenly Father loves you and me so much that He desires that we spend time with Him. In addition, He has created a deep need in each one of us -- a need for Him. Therefore, it is necessary for us to slip away and be alone with God, especially when the pressures of life mount. When we place Him at the top of our list of priorities, He then chooses to bless us beyond measure.

As we take a look at Isaiah 58:11 in the Message Bible, notice how God describes the blessings that will be poured out upon those who seek after God in the right ways.

"I will always show you where to go. I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places - firm muscles, strong bones. You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry."

As women of God, we draw life from God's Word just as surely as a healthy fruit tree draws nourishment from its hidden root system. Let's consider two more facts about this vital part of a tree that grows downward into the soil.

3. Roots are for storage.

As we soak in needed refreshment from God's Word, He creates in us a reservoir of hope and strength in Him. Then, when times are rough, we won't be depleted. We won't dry up, disintegrate, or die. Instead, we will simply reach down into our hidden reservoir of refreshment and draw out what we need right now from what God has given us.

4. Roots are for support.

Without a well-developed root system, we become top heavy -- lots of leafy, heavy foliage appears above ground but nothing supports it from underneath. Without a network of strong roots, sooner or later we have to be staked up, tied up, propped up, straightened up -- until the next wind comes along and we fall over again! However, with firm healthy roots, no wind can blow us down.

We know that the healthiness and strength of a tree is dependent upon the root system. In the same way, our spiritual healthiness and power is dependent upon what goes on "underground" in the quiet solitude of time spent with the Lord. This is where the beginning of abiding takes place; this is where our relationship with God thrives; this is where the real work is done.

A Heart Abiding in God's Word -- Part 1

Jeremiah 17:7-8, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit."

Psalm 1:2-3, "But his [the righteous man's] delight is in the law of the Lord,and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."

If God is going to be first in our hearts and the "Ultimate Priority" of our lives, we must develop a root system anchored deeply in Him. We must seek to live our lives near to God -- indeed, hidden in Him!

Join me as we consider two facts about roots.

1. Roots are unseen.

We are going to compare the root system of a tree to your private life -- the life that you enjoy with God out of the public eye. The underground root system of a tree causes the tree to thrive when it is planted in rich, moisture-laden soil. The tree grows strong, with green healthy leaves, and abundant fruit.

In the same way, if you and I want to thrive as Christians and impact others, we must spend a great porportion of our time hidden in quiet, in reflection, in prayer, in study. Our strength (or lack of it) in public is explained by what goes on in private between us and God.

2. Roots are for taking in.

Do you know what happens when you and I are able to slip away to be with God in study and prayer? We receive. We take in. We are nurtured and fed.

Away from public view, we can go to the Lord with our weakness, with our weariness, and with our darkness, and we can be renewed.

We find great benefit when we purposefully make time to read and study His Word. We must willfully choose Him over the "good" things of life.

We can alter our schedules and, when we do, the blessing are abundant!