A few weeks ago, the enemy came at me. I’ll admit he tried to knock the wind out of me and trip me up. He came after what I hold most dear, but what he underestimated is that my spiritual tree has been establishing deep roots over the last few years. The harder he pulled, the stronger I held on. I planted my feet firmly on the solid ground of Jesus Christ so I could pull back.
However, I know that the enemy doesn’t give up. He’ll keep looking for a weakness in my branches. He’ll look to see if I stop watering my tree. He’ll look to see if I grow lazy, distracted, and neglect to prune it. He’ll look to see if I let the birds come and steal my fruit. It’s imperative that I continue to establish deep roots that grow deep into the heart of the Father. I need my roots to wrap themselves around the throne of God and anchor on His truths. I need Jesus to give me His living water to quench the thirst of my tree so that the fruit I bear will be sweet and nutritious.
So, I how do I do that?
The WORD is my nutrients. It's where I get fed. It’s my instructional guide on how to grow deep roots. The Word prunes me and helps me bear good fruit.
The SPIRIT is the very air I need to survive. The Holy Spirit takes all my CO2 junk and transforms it into life-giving oxygen. The Holy Spirit is what prevents me from withering and dying and keeps me flourishing, bearing fruit, living, and reaching my branches towards heaven.
PRAYER is my lifeline to the FATHER. Prayer is the source of God’s healing, growing, and living power. That's where Jesus intercedes for me, where He hugs me, and where He speaks to me.
The CHURCH is where I find a cluster of fellow trees to intertwine their roots with mine making me stronger, holding me up when I grow weak so that together we can withstand the winds and storms of life.
I just watched this amazing video, Intelligent Trees, that actually says that trees form bonds of friendship. They look out for one another. The documentary says that trees don’t do well when they are by themselves. If trees need friends and family to thrive and survive in this world, how much more do we.
God is an amazing Creator God! His creation is alive and responsive to Him, even the trees have been intelligently designed. God’s Word says that creation recognizes and worships Him. He controls it and they know it. They are anticipating the return of Jesus, calling out for Him because they know when He returns to set up His kingdom on earth, they will rest and not die. All of creation will live in perfect harmony just like it did in the Garden of Eden before death and sin entered the world. A what a glorious day that will be!
So, if the trees know how to grow deep roots and survive against the storms of life, attacks of the enemy, and spiritual drought, shouldn’t we?
My prayer for you and me is Paul’s prayer for the church:
Ephesians 3:14-19 (NLT)
Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Love,
Yolanda
*Video, Intelligent Trees - Documentary
