It’s planting day for my veggie garden, and I have a lesson for you about living a deeply rooted life.
A Deeply Rooted Life
My thoughts are centering on this Scripture:
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.
Ephesians 3:16-17 NLT
Today I’m transferring my seedlings to the garden. It’s a perfect time to do so, since rain is on the way. The weather is finally warm enough not to freeze them at night.
I’ve already learned a lesson about the importance of their roots. A few weeks ago, I transferred the cold-season crops to the garden. The ones that can withstand freezing temps. But some did better than others, and it’s all because they were more deeply rooted. Here’s a picture to demonstrate:
Though I started my seedlings in little peat pellets, these remnants of romaine lettuce did best of all. I simply planted these ends of romaine, right from the grocery store, in my garden. The root systems of the lettuce plants were already large and established, so they sent up new green leaves from the center only a day or two after being planted.
Today I went outside to feed the cat and noticed that she had overturned one of my flower pots. But since the pansy seedling had been encased in a peat pellet, the roots were intact in a little ball. I swept up the soil with my hand and replaced the baby pansy in the pot. Amazingly, there was no harm done to the tiny seedling.
Why a Deeply Rooted Life Matters
Every gardener knows that the most important part of a plant is underground. If a plant’s root system is weak, the entire plant will suffer. But when the roots are strong, the plant can withstand extreme conditions and bear more flowers and fruits.
God wants us to live deeply rooted lives too. When we’re deeply rooted, we can withstand storms, falls, turnovers, and freezes much better. This pandemic has shaken most of us down to our roots. Five weeks in, most of us have taken stock of what needs to change. This includes deepening our roots before another unprecedented crisis arrives.
Every gardener knows that the most important part of a plant is underground. God wants us to live deeply rooted lives too. #gardening #christianliving #spiritualgrowth Click To Tweet
3 Ways to Live a Deeply Rooted Life
If you want to live a deeply rooted life, I have these time-tested suggestions for you, based on my 30+ years of gardening and spiritual lessons.
1. Spend time in God’s Word every day.
A veggie garden needs attention every day to be healthy. The gardener much check if the plants need water. She also must look out for pest invasions or fungus breakouts. Vines need retying, and flowers need deadheading for maximum results.
In the same way, we need to attend to God’s Word each day. In 2003, I bought a One Year Bible because I wanted to read through the Bible for the first time in my life. Nothing else has changed me more than interacting daily with the Word of God. It reprogrammed the way I thought about God, myself and others.
Referring back to the theme verse today, your time in God’s Word empowers you with the inner strength of the Spirit. One of the Holy Spirit’s primary jobs is to remind you of what God says and enlighten you to the truth. Your roots of faith will grow deep as you spend time listening to God and learning about his people and plans.
2. Establish a rhythm of prayer.
A gardener has regular rhythms of watering, fertilizing, and replanting. We also need regular rhythms of prayer throughout the day to stay healthy and strong.
Our theme verse tells us that Jesus will make his home in our hearts as we trust him. My trust in God has grown primarily through my prayer life. First I learned about his character by studying the Bible. Then I prayed Scripture back to him, claiming his promises for me. Over time, my trust in God grew stronger and deeper.
If you have a stay-at-home or work-from-home life like me, you can have a running conversation with God throughout the day. If you work outside the home, I suggest that you set times to pray, such as your commutes and lunch breaks. When you make prayer a priority, your roots of faith will reach deeper down into God’s blessings.
3. Tell God that you love him every day.
My friend Elaine recommended a wonderful old book to me, called The Love Exchange. The premise of the book is to form a daily exchange of adoration prayers toward God, telling him that you love him. Then you wait for him to lavish his love on you.
Our theme verse says that we will stay strong as our roots grow down into God’s love. Do you regularly tell God that you love him? I have to admit, until I read that book a couple years ago, expressing my love to God wasn’t a big priority. I wanted to hear how God loved me, of course, but minimized my calling to worship and praise him, expressing my love for him in tangible ways (like words!).
If you haven’t done this before, it may feel a little awkward to you. But with practice, you’ll feel more comfortable expressing your love in words to God. I’ve been surprised to see how much this love exchange has bolstered my faith, and I pray it does the same for you.
Free Printable for a Deeply Rooted Life
The Bible has many verses to encourage us to live a deeply rooted life. I’ve collected several of them for you on a new printable available to my email subscribers. Simply sign up below to receive instant access to my library of many free printables.
If you enjoyed this garden-themed post, check out my newly revamped Meeting God in the Garden series. You’ll find a directory of the posts in my Library if you choose to subscribe below.
3 Ways to Live a Deeply Rooted Life: Get three practical takeaways from this devotion based on Eph. 3:16-17. #spiritualgrowth #christianliving #encouragement Click To Tweet
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