“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
So a few weeks ago there was a very bad wind storm here in Parkersburg, where we live. There were trees and power lines down, flooding and debris blown everywhere. After the storm I went out to survey the damage and I was in awe of a particular tree that had fallen over at a nearby cemetery. This tree was HUGE! It was so big, that it took out a fence, fell across a road and damaged several tombstones. I was amazed that a tree of this size could be blown over. I kept thinking, something else had to happen – lightning must have struck it. I was talking with someone and they said, no it was high winds. Still, I thought – that tree had to have been over 50 years old, there is no way wind could just uproot it. It puzzled me until a few days later a brush crew came and began cutting up the wood in order to remove it. Then, it all became very clear.
At the base of the tree there was a big black hole where it had begun to rot out in the middle – in the inside. Ahh, now it was beginning to make sense! As I looked at the different branches that were cut, they looked fine, it had not yet made it up that far, but I could see just how far the destruction was working its way up. I thought to myself the root system must have been damaged.
So, I decided to look at what happens when a large tree starts to decay inside and guess what the first picture was? THE ROOT SYSTEM! I learned a bunch of interesting facts as well. For instance, some enemies of trees are:
Sapsuckers – birds which cause shallow wounds
Sugar Maple borers – these insects cause deep wounds, deforming, causing decay
Bark Beetles -insects that tend to pick on the weaker trees causing decay
Animals – eating and destroying
Storms – breaks branches allowing exposure
Changes in water or oxygen
Also, wounds that appear at the higher use areas – such as bark being peeled – this is called “people pressure disease” (It is important to note that the proper pruning favors good wound closure and limits decay.)
WOW – from what I have read, trees and people are a lot alike. (Did I mention that trees have three main parts as well???)
It’s important to note that all decay eventually reaches the root system. I think it would be safe to say that the wound works its way down to the root system, therefore, affecting the entire life of the tree.
Let’s do a little bit of comparing –
Sapsuckers – I immediately thought of people who sap the life right out of you. We all know them! While we need to love them and be a witness, we must be on guard with them or they will drain us spiritually.
Sugar Maple Borers – Betrayers – People who have let us down, betrayed us, broken covenant, etc. Let’s face it, wounds go deep when they are from a friend!
Bark Beetles – Gossips and people who have evil intent. These people speak evil and lie. This is where we have to employ Isaiah 54:17 – No weapon formed against us shall prosper and every tongue that rises against us shall be shown to be in the wrong!
Animals – We have heard it taught that we must live according to the Spirit not the flesh, or the “animal nature.” Animals live for themselves. Ever wonder why Jesus called religious folks hogs, dogs, vipers and snakes?
Storms – We all go through storms of life. None of us are immune. When a storm comes and a branch gets broken, it is important to prune the branch, repair it or cut it off so that we can continue to grow and not allow it to affect the rest of our walk.
Lack of oxygen or water – Holy Spirit is the breath of God. Our Father breathed life into us. We must stay in His presence. Water is also a symbol of His presence/Spirit.
People Pressure Disease – does this one even need explanation? This is why it is so important to align with like-minded people. Bad company corrupts good morals. (I Cor 15:33) Peer pressure has taken down too many people in this life!
So – how do we keep our root system healthy? Let’s look at Jeremiah 17:7-8
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear[b] 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.”
As I looked in the Strong’s Concordance I found that trust means to have confidence, or trust in and the word hope means to have confidence, take refuge, security of have the act of confiding. The dictionary says that trust is firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. And hope is an expectation of a thing.
So blessed is the man or woman who trusts in, who has confidence in, who takes refuge in, who places their security in and who confides in the Lord and expects from Him. This person will be like a tree that is planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river…..this means there will always be a source of sustenance.
This person will not fear when the heat comes. Have you been in the fire lately? I know so many who have had the heat of life turned up lately. If we are not confidently trusting the Lord in all things, when the heat comes, fear comes with it. However, one translation says that a person trusting in the Lord won’t even see the heat come! (either it won’t come or it won’t be important enough to even see!)
This person’s leaf will be green – what we bear, our branches, our life. And the best part – we will always bear fruit – even when drought is around us! Reminds me of the scripture in Genesis 26 where Isaac sowed seed in the time of famine and reaped 100 fold in the same year.
It is also important to note that we have our part to do. We MUST trust in and fully rely on the Lord. This means we are submitted to His ways and plans and that we plant ourselves where He tells us to.
Where are you planted? If you are completely trusting in Him, you will be planted by streams of living water. In other words, your church, your local body, needs to be a place where you are fed LIFE. It is also important that this church not just give refreshing, but pruning is a must. Pruning is vital in healing wounds and removing and preventing decay.
Friends, just like a tree is subject to the elements of weather, we are subject to the elements of life. Sapsuckers will come. Sugar coating betrayers will come. Liars are everywhere and the old rhyme of sticks and stones is a lie in itself. Words will and do hurt and they can cause damage if we allow them to penetrate our heart – our root system. People will act ugly because the animal nature is prevalent, especially without Jesus. Just watch TV or be on FB for five minutes. Storms are all around. We must, we simply must trust in, confidently rely on, and submit to the Lord.
As we do this, we will not fear in a year of drought (remember Isaac?) and our leaves (life) will not wither, but will bear fruit! But a tree that has decay will not bear fruit!
The tree that caught my attention in the park…it was old, it was tall, it had been around for a while. It was large, and it seemed solid. But, somewhere a few years ago, decay started and set in. It worked its way throughout the root system until it began to eat away the strength from the inside. It decayed, layer by layer until the next storm was the last storm and the tree was plucked up by the wind and destroyed. A healthier tree would have been able to withstand this wind, but this particular tree, the roots were too weak and could not keep the tree planted.
We aren’t always as strong as we seem. This is why we must take inventory and keep our root system irrigated and our branches pruned. Trusting in Him, relying and being confident in Him, confiding in Him and not seeking attention on social media, staying in the word, planting ourselves in a healthy local church where truth is not compromised and pruning is normal…all these things are vital to the life or our tree.
Blessed is the man or woman who trusts in the Lord. Our roots will go deep, be healthy, and sustain us in drought, storm, or attack. Why? Because we are living in Him. It’s always about being in Him. He is our strength and refuge, our protection and grace.
Let’s pray – Father, today, I ask that you speak to every reader and show them if there is any decay in their root system. Show us if there is any area we have not fully submitted to You. Prune the dead branches out of our lives, heal up wounds and betrayals of our past. Strengthen our roots so that no matter what life brings, we stand firm and tall in You. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
This article was written by Kelita Deems