Rooted in THE Source

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; it's leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit" Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV.

When we are totally trusting and confident in God, the One who has all and never ever changes, He becomes our "source" and we are rooted in Him. When we are rooted in THE source of Living Water, we can become so stable that we are never even phased by our circumstances.

Even when its so hot--we're under pressure, we're stressed, we're overwhelmed, and the world might feel like its melting all around us--we won't fear because we're rooted in THE source. Our "leaves" will always be green because our well being is not dependent on our circumstances. "God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:19.

Even in a year of drought--things might be bad for a long time; we might feel dry like we've almost got nothing left, like everything is dying around us; we might not even "feel" God's presence-- but even in those times, however long they may last, "He will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6) and we can still remain rooted in THE source.

If we push past our circumstances and then push even further past our feelings, keeping ourselves rooted in THE source, we can even bear fruit when it would make sense to everyone around us to just wither and die, to totally give up, because our joy, hope, peace, and love are not dependent on our circumstances. The best part about fruit is that it isn't just for us to have to make us look pretty. We get to give our fruit to a dying, hopeless world that is starving for something real--something that will actually sustain them.

I firmly believe that our greatest ministry comes out of our deepest pain and our hardest struggles. Sometimes we have to go through things so that the world, or maybe even just that one person, can watch us to see how we handle it. Paul said in Philippians 1:14 "because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly." Just like with Paul, sometimes our struggles do more for other people than they even do for ourselves. Praising God in our trials can cause others to boldly praise Him in their circumstances, or maybe even for the first time ever! God will use what was meant to and would make sense to destroy you for the saving of many lives! (paraphrase Genesis 50:20)

If we keep ourselves rooted in THE source, we'll not only remain stable, but we'll also bear fruit that gives life to everyone around us. So dig deep! Cling to THE source! He's not finished with you yet! He wants to bring something good to the world through exactly what you're going through today!