The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
The more I think about what that says, the more I realize it is what I need to remember the most. Not only does he guide me in paths of righteousness...but he does it for his name's sake. Not for my name. Not for the sake of anyone I know, or don't know. He does it for his glory. This is something I should remember each day. God doesn't depend on me to follow him each day, he can live without me. But he knows that I can't live without him. And for his name's sake he guides me through my days so that I can be more like him, and in turn, help guide more to him. It's a never-ending cycle of glorifying God. I think that is just beautiful. He loves us so much that he has sacrificed it all. We treat him so terribly, and forget the 'for his name's sake' portion of this and bring so much glory upon ourselves. But who are we to belittle God's glory? Who are we to steal some of his thunder? Who are we to stand in his way? We are but a mist, here today and gone tomorrow, but we still have the audacity to think we are important enough for the glory intended for our God. Faith without works is dead. It's time for us to leave it all behind and live for Jesus Christ.
To live is Christ, to die is gain.
We're not here to stick our toe in the water and decide it's too cold to jump in. We're here to just do a cannonball and hope for the best. It's going to be a struggle. There will be times when it seems hopeless, useless, worthless...but if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?
Ephesians 3:17 -- 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.
Like the roots of a tree, your soul becomes intertwined with the Holy Spirit. And as time passes your roots grow deeper and deeper in love and understanding. I really love that visual. I have always been intrigued by tree roots and how intricate they are. And how far that they reach.
When searching for this picture, I came across a blog post that it was linked to, and I liked what it said, so I'm just going to add it here:
"Those big trees had roots that would hold on, stay strong, and find nourishment. Their roots even served to protect the younger trees who were just establishing themselves. I would be willing to bet that this was the image the writer of Proverbs intended. When saying that the Godly have deep roots, he was saying they have the ability to hold on, stay strong, find nourishment, and even protect those who are just beginning their journey!"
Now, he was referring to the verse Proverbs 12:3 -- Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots. But I think the same concept still applies. We want those deep roots that serve to protect the freshly planted trees and help them find nourishment. It is a lovely picture. I already really like trees, but now I am starting to like them even more. I'm really glad I stumbled upon this whole thing.
Anyway, let's strive for deep roots in God's love. And for helping others by protecting their freshly planted roots and giving them a hope that their roots will someday grow deeper and deeper into God's love.
You can't fake deep roots, you either have them or you don't.
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