Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:7 NLT
One of my friends emailed me this week saying he was very confused. He had left his family church some years back because he was weary. He said there was much focus on work, pleasing God, and what seemed to be a continual “performance” to impress God and gain His favor. He said He nearly lost His faith because He had become convinced that if this was truly God’s way of doing things, he was unable to read the Bible correctly, he would never follow God right, and frankly, he didn’t know if he even wanted to commit himself to following “that kind of a God.” But God intervened through friends, and he had found tremendous freedom in simply following Jesus, dropping all the effort and trying. He said his life had never been more satisfying, blessed, and productive. However, he had just heard a message that seemed to be telling him again that following Jesus was work and effort. “What happened to Jesus’ invitation to come to Him if we are weary with heavy burdens and He will give us rest?”
Good question. Maybe you feel that way sometimes. Maybe the call to awakening and to stretch and grow feels wearisome. But think about it physically. When we are healthy, stretching and growing comes naturally. It’s simply a natural part of a healthy and thriving life.
Spiritually, it is the same way. Jesus is not calling us to a performance lifestyle, trying to get His favor and blessing. He wants us to stretch and grow naturally in Him. Paul got it. Listen to his language, comparing us to healthy plants: “LET your roots grow down into him, and LET your lives be built on him.” It’s not something we work for; it is something we get out of the way for. God does the work as we drop our resistance and simply cooperate with His growth process. “THEN your faith will grow strong.”
The psalmist describes this so well in Psalm 1:2-3 NLT: “But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.”
When I am planted and cooperative with God’s processes, stretching, growing, and bearing fruit is my joy. It’s natural. A plant doesn’t try to grow. It stays planted and responsive. God does it.
- God, help me let my roots grow deep in You and then truly thrive in my stretching and growing in this new season. I want to bear new fruit because I am healthy and cooperating with Your plan, not trying in my own efforts. Grow me, Lord.