Navigate Your Journey with the Lord by Discovering Deeper Places of Growth, with Michaela L. Carson -

Written by: Michaela L. Caron, Author

The Root System

(From part 3 in the book, Deeper.)

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

If someone were to tell you that they had just finished reading a book on how to fly a plane and then invited you to be their passenger on a cross-country flight, what would you say? The phrase, “um… no,” comes to mind! Why? Because knowledge and experience are not the same things.

When talking with people about the next step on their faith journeys, it amazes me how many of them do not spend time reading God’s Word. They know they should, and it will help them, but they don’t. Why? Because knowledge and experience are not the same things. Until you take that step of faith, until you choose to embrace the things that will expand your root system, you do not have the experience you need.

We discussed in Part 2 how a taproot seeks out water. This section will look at how the root system develops, providing nutrients and the nourishment needed to grow. Our spiritual nutrition, and ultimately our growth, comes from the Word of God. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 4:4, “People do not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” His statement wasn’t a new concept; He was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. He reminded the Israelites of their history—of a time when they were drifting in the desert, wholly reliant on God for their nourishment. During that wilderness wandering adventure, God provided miraculous manna (bread) that fell each day from heaven. Their job was to gather enough for that day and eat it while it was fresh. He still provides fresh nourishment for us daily, but we must consume it.

I’m going to be honest. This was me. It was more than twenty years before I started to understand what was missing in my relationship with God and why my roots were so weak and shallow that the slightest breeze would uproot me. I didn’t even realize that my relationship with Him was stunted—that I wasn’t getting the nutrients I needed. I was malnourished in my faith, which left me weakened and vulnerable.

Scripture teaches us that God’s Word, the Bible, is living and active. What does that mean? It means that while unchanged, it is also fluid. With the help of the Holy Spirit, you can read the same verse today that you read five years ago, and God can show you something fresh and relevant about where you are in this moment. It means that you and your friend can be sitting in the same church service and walk away with entirely different perspectives on the same sermon. God is personal. He knows each of us individually; He knows our exact needs at any given moment. Because of this, we can approach His Word with excitement about what He will say to us today.

How do we take the knowledge we have and transfer it into a lifechanging experience? There’s only one step—we must choose to.

Every day when we wake up, we have a choice: to obey or not. We have the option to either do what He wants or what we want; to spend time in Scripture or not. It seems so easy, so why is it so hard? Because there is an enemy of our souls who knows the life change that comes from spending time in God’s Word. If Satan can’t steal our salvation, he wants to stunt our growth, and he will throw every excuse our way to do so. The many battles he wages against us keep us from the Bible, but here’s what I’ve learned—every excuse is a lie. The more I read the Truth, the more I can identify the lies. Let me show you:

I have a big day today, and I need extra sleep to be ready for it. Nothing prepares us more for our day than time with God. It’s prideful to think we can do it without Him. (John 15:5)
It’s not that big of a deal to miss one day. God is merciful and gracious, but He is a jealous God, and He desires time with us. It’s idolatry to choose to put other things before Him. (James 4:4-8)
I love my bed. Complacency and self-indulgence do not make us more like Christ. We know of times He even prayed through the night. (Luke 22:46)
I woke up late and will be late for work. We have to cut something, but why Him instead of something else? When we put God first, He always sorts out the rest. (Matthew 6:33)
I have so much to do today; I don’t have time. When we prioritize our lives the way God instructs us, we have more time, energy, and rest. It’s God-math: 2+2=whatever He wants it to be! (Proverbs 16:3)

If this has inspired you to grow in your faith, I invite you to look inside Deeper. Michaela offers a “Map Your Journey” part to each chapter. You can see a preview of this by clicking here and then Click “look inside book” to preview.

*Sometimes “pennies in your path” appear in a book designed with you in mind.

P.S.

Question: What one spiritual discipline are you going to START so your faith roots go deeper?

Growing Deeper-

One Simple Action Step: Purchase Michaela’s book, Deeper. Ha! 😉 Decide what day this week you will begin the spiritual discipline you have decided to implement.

Scripture Plunge: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16, 2 Timothy 3:15-17, James 1:5-8, 3:13-18, Proverbs 4:20-23, John 4:31-34, 6:48-51, 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, 1 Peter 2:1-3, 2 Peter 1:2-9

Learn more about Michaela by visiting her website deeper-growth.com

Contact Michaela by email: info@deeper-growth.com

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