Deep Roots, Steady Soul

The word rooted is often thrown around in Christian conversations, yet do we really know what it means?

To be rooted in faith means to have your identity, decisions, and way of life grounded in trust in God- not just as belief, but as your source, stability, and direction. 

I believe that in order to live those things out in a real way, we have to get to know God’s character, engage in “pre-storm” work, live out of and enjoy the fruit of the spirit, and move with a Heavenly and eternal perspective. There are so many examples laid out for us in God’s Word, examples that were not perfect but they were firmly rooted in God and his promises. Abraham, David, Job, Ruth, Noah, Deborah, Peter, Mary, Paul- just to name a few. Each of them had trials and storms that came their way, but their trust in God, even when it didn’t make sense to others, kept them grounded in Truth. 

Recently, I have been studying the book of Colossians and ironically (yet not) it is steeped in examples of being rooted. As I study any part of the Bible, I find myself looking at the verses in Scripture then going to their original form, be it Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic. Often the English language can’t quite capture the full essence of what the author was wanting to convey. So I pull out that trusty Strong's Concordance or jump to Blueletterbible.com and go to work. Let’s look at a couple verses from Colossians to help us better understand what being rooted means. 

Colossians 2:7 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

Here the word rooted is “rizoo” (hrid-zaho) which means to strengthen, render firm, and to cause a thing or person to be thoroughly grounded. Thoroughly. Man, I love that distinction. Not sort of grounded, but thoroughly. This type of rootedness, knowledge and understanding gives us deep roots which keeps us stable, not shifting from the hope of the gospel when we experience a storm. The verse encourages us to dig deeper and be strengthened, which leads to gratitude. The more we know and experience God the only real response is gratitude-"thank you Lord for choosing me," "thank you for sticking with me," "thank you for seeing the best in me-even though I don’t deserve it." I get to experience the greatest love because of His loving kindness. 

Let’s look at a much needed aspect of rootedness in Colossians 1:23,  “if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” 

I was pulled to that word stable. Things in our world today are less than stable. Things feel like they are constantly changing and we are swaying back and forth from pain to pain, tragedy to tragedy, and need to need. But God is stable. We, therefore, through his power can also be stable, established, rooted. 

Understanding the stability aspect of God’s character is vital. While our circumstances, our perspectives, and the elements around us are ever changing, God is constant. He is stable. He embodies steadfast love and is a place of refuge for us through His Word and our experience with Him. 

Y’all may have heard me say that the disciplines and rhythms we foster in the day-to-day root us and prepare us for the trials of life, the “pre-storm work” if you will. It is not in the midst of the storm that we start a scholarly book study of Matthew. That is the time we draw from the well of knowledge that we gained during the ordinary time. This is not to say when we are in a storm we don’t turn to Scripture, we absolutely do, in fact we must. However our capacity in pain can be smaller and it is in the hollows of pain we draw from our knowledge rooted in God’s Truth. 

Zach Morris Time Out

(for all you 80’s Babies….. iykyk)

So maybe you’re saying, Britney, I am in the thick of a storm, I don’t have disciplines or practices to rely on…..HELP. 

I would say start, yet go gently. God can use your pain, but you’re going to need to get some support. Go to a Bible-teaching church, come see us at The Retreat House, open Spotify or Apple Podcast to Daily Lectio and press play, turn on The Chosen, read the Psalms, grab a copy of Streams in The Desert (this is a lifeline for me in times of trouble).  All of those are on-ramps to hear God’s Truth and begin to experience His healing and ways you can engage when your soul is tired. 

What people often neglect is how emotionally taxing walking through a season of pain can be. So, it is important to be mindful of that as you move through a difficult season. We don’t expect an Olympic gymnast to run a marathon after a long day of training or after a meet -- their muscles are fatigued. Emotional gymnastics and fatigue are real. When you are in the midst of a storm, guard your heart, mind, body, and soul and make room. Go gently.

Here is a Breath Prayer Practice you can save, keep in your phone, or do whenever you need to ground yourself.

Time In! 

Day-to-day disciplines are part of the how of being rooted, but what is the benefit? 

It is when we are rooted deeply in Christ that we get to experience the beauty and gift of the fruit of the spirit. The gift of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The gift of those, not the expectation to check all these off or to strive for or to be the picture-perfect person. It is to experience, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the outpouring of these things in yourself and through others. The more aware we are of how God is working in our lives and others, the closer we draw to him. This helps when we have a Heavenly and eternal perspective. Which is a conscious effort and in a lot of ways it goes against our flesh, so we have to be intentional. Yesterday in a leadership meeting, we were talking about going above and beyond and Dr. Shelby said, “We are training our eyes to see goodness.” YAAAASSSS! It is a choice to assume the best about others, it is a choice and an active discipline to find the good. It is a choice to have a Kingdom perspective. 

Looking forward to Heaven helps us remain rooted. It is like sunshine to our souls. Ponder this: what Heavenly job are you training for now? What is God building in you on this side of Heaven that He will use on the other side? We know from Scripture that work is good and present even before Adam and Eve had their run in with the serpent. It is my belief that we, in Heaven, will have roles, responsibilities, and even jobs. Not miserable, clock-punching jobs, but jobs that are an outpouring of our God-given gifts. Work that is a literal act of worship to Jesus, purpose as we engage the total Presence with God The Father, Jesus the Son, and The Holy Spirit. 

So what is that for you? How are you leaning into the gifts God is giving you? How can you see that translating to a heavenly job? This is a point to ponder, not an exact answer. Engage your imagination. Ask God to bring things to mind. 

Our time on Earth comes with much complexity, there is no way around that but our eternity with Christ begins now, so live in that. Live in the joys of the thing and the people and nature around you. Become a noticer so you can see the Heavenly gifts in others and catch a glimpse of the joy that awaits us. Root yourself so deeply in who God is that as the storm hits, your heavenly perspective is so strong, roots are so deep that you see the glimpses of heaven, even when things are tough. Your endurance is building, your faith is building, and your roots are growing deep. 

And lastly, I will say that inner work is like fertilizer to the soil. (Organic of course!) Taking the time to do the work of awareness, knowing how God has wired you, and to heal the broken parts of ourselves strengthens us and keeps us rooted and healthy. Learning how our body, mind, soul, emotions, and our spiritual life work together empower us to stand tall.

As always-we are here for you. There are several opportunities this month to be intentional, lean into learning, and get away for a moment to be with the Lord and with yourself. Let us know how we can walk with you- hello@theretreathousememphis.com  or on Instagram @theretreathousememphis. One particular event I want to point out for this month is our Secure Workshop. This is a great way to step into deeper awareness of who you are and how you can move beyond false ways of being and step into security, changing how you interact in your relationships. This is a three part series taught by me, Dr. Kevin Shelby, and Sherry Varughese. You can learn more about Secure here.