by The oak tree grasped on tight as yet another storm in life was hammering down hard upon its frame. Gloomy clouds made the day seem like night. The deluge of rain cascaded down and the winds blew hard. Branches rattled, swayed, and bent in all contortions. The tree bowed and its trunk twisted further. Older branches broke and splashed into the raging waters, but the tree held on. The roots held on tight as the rushing waters and waves slammed against them at the river’s edge. Clumps of dirt plunged into the water exposing more of the roots on the rock wall, but the roots went deep and they held strong. They would not give up without a fight.
God compares the Christian to a tree with it roots running deep and holding on tight.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
Satan wants nothing more than to take each Christian out one at a time. He works hard and he works over-time. We should not be deceived, he is there each day “seeking whom” he can take out that is serving the Lord. If we are saved, he cannot take that from us; but he can make us of no use for the Lord. If Satan can get us out of church, get us to stop reading our Bible, get us to stop praying, and get us to stop witnessing to others – he moves on. He does not care if our life is miserable because he has accomplished his goal. His goal is to take us out and make us of no use for the Lord. However, the Christian has God on our side. We have faith in our Lord to help us weather the storms and hold on tight.
I Peter 5:8-9 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith…”
The words “stedfast in the faith” are our rock. Our faith in God is the rock like the rock in the photo above. We are the tree and our roots are growing into the rock. There are few things I thought about when comparing a tree with a Christian.
- When we are first saved, we are a newly planted sapling with not many roots. A new sapling needs much care so it can grow deep roots and withstand strong storms.
- A new sapling may need a couple strong stakes to support it for a few years. For a Christian, that could be the help of older Christians to take the newly saved Christian under his/her wing for a few years.
- A new sapling also needs watering. It does not have deep roots when it is a young tree, so it cannot tap into deeper water stores during a drought. The newly saved person needs water. He/she needs to be in church, reading the Bible, praying, and serving in whatever aspect he/she can in church.
A Christian’s roots will roots grow deeper and deeper with each thing done for the Lord. Strong deep roots are what helps the Christian stand when the storms come, and storms do come. A tree cannot grow and become strong if it does not go through storms. God sends the storms along for the Christian to gain more strength.
The fact that storms make us stronger may be why a few wiser women, I know, seem to weather every storm so well. They have been through much in their life, yet they let their roots grow deeper into their Lord. They are not budging and Satan is not taking them out.
While researching about what indeed makes a tree stronger, I came across some interesting facts:
- A healthy tree is able to move/flex in the wind, which is exactly what prevents it from breaking apart during a storm. The more storms we Christians go through, the more flexible we become. We can then bend and can go with the flow God has for our lives.
- It takes a multitude of storms for the tree to grow a strong trunk and deeper roots. We Christians will have to go through many storms to become stronger for the Lord. Older Christians – help the younger ones persevere through the storms.
- If a tree is uprooted in a storm, many times it can be saved with a crane and the right equipment. I just figured when a tree is uprooted that is it; but with a little research from a site that saves trees, they expounded upon the fact that an uprooted tree can usually be saved if they can access it. If a Christian is uprooted in a storm, he/she can be saved. If others can access him/her. So fallen Christian, lets others have access, take their help, and get back up for the Lord. Standing Christian, do not knock the fallen Christian down further, lift them up, encourage them, and help them. Get them back on their feet.
Common sense tells me that if I were able to see an uprooted tree being put back in the ground, it would be an awesome site to see. It would take much laborious labor to do such a feat. Let us put that kind of work into helping a fallen Christian.
I am so glad we are not in life’s storms alone. God is with us each step of the way. He holds us up and walks with us through each storm. The verse above in Jeremiah says “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord.” We are blessed even when Satan tries to blind our eyes to where we cannot see the blessings. Remember, we are blessed. We have eternal life! If all else fails in life and we seem to be getting uprooted, remember we have eternal life! No storm can ever take that from a Christian.
A tree is still a tree if it falls. A Christian is still a child of God even if the Christian falls in a storm.
When we finally get to heaven, we will have our glorified body and live for all eternity with our Heavenly Father. This is the blessed hope we have as mentioned above in Jeremiah, “whose hope the Lord is.” The lost world does not have this hope, but we as Christians do.
Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Do not let the storms of life take you out. Hang on tight and keep having faith in God. Hold on tight to the Rock.
