PRINCIPLE: “Before the wind blows, remember the roots.”
It’s that time of year again. The snow is gone and nature is springing back to life. It’s a beautiful time of the year. It’s also the gardening time of the year. Every year it’s “Let’s buy more perennials so there’s less work to do next year.” (Why is it that we say it every year, do it every year, and it still seems like we do the same amount of work each year?)
That, of course, means getting rid of or transplanting some of the old – it’s time to dig up plants, shrubs, and even trees. In some instances, that’s no problem. Plants, for example, pull right up. Hostas, Lilies, and Irises are easily dug up and split. Shrubs and trees, however, are a different story. You just don’t pull or dig them up! Sometimes it takes a shovel or a spade. Other times it takes a saw. Sometimes it takes a hatchet or ax. Oftentimes it takes some back breaking work. And once in a while, such as with trees, it takes a professional with special equipment. It all depends on the roots – on their depth, breadth, thickness, and strength.
It sets me to wondering – how strong is my root system? What is the depth, breadth, thickness, and strength of my roots? What would it take to cut or knock me down, to transplant me? A mere shovel – a saw – an ax – or some special equipment? What happened the last time the storm hit your life? Were you blown away or did you grow? The winds will blow again. Life will attack with shovels, saws, axes, and all sorts of special equipment. Will you be blown away? Cut or knocked down? Transplanted? Or will you prosper in the wind, and be transformed through the attacks?
Psalm 1 comes to mind. The blessed one “…is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers…Not so the wicked. They are like chaff that the wind blows away.”What’s the difference? One has a root system and one does not. And once the wind blows, it’s too late to worry about roots. So “Before the wind blows, remember the roots.”Before the shovels, saws, axes, and special equipment attack, put down roots. In other words, put them down now.
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers…Not so the wicked. They are like chaff that the wind blows away.”What’s the difference? One has a root system and one does not. And once the wind blows, it’s too late to worry about roots. So “Before the wind blows, remember the roots.”Before the shovels, saws, axes, and special equipment attack, put down roots. In other words, put them down now.
The Psalmist pinpoints how to develop roots with great depth, breadth, thickness, and strength. The blessed one “delights in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” You’ve been planted in the soil of God’s grace, fertilized by the richness of Christ’s blood. So tend to your growth. Whether you are chaff or a tree depends on your roots. “Before the wind blows, remember the roots.” Develop a discipline now of reading and studying God’s Word, praying, worshiping, being still – of going apart and resting a while. It is, after all, how Jesus developed His roots.
Begin, or renew, a life of root development today. Prepare for the winds, storms and attacks. “Before the wind blows, remember the roots.”Tend to your roots – and be assured that the Lord will watch over your way.