Last year many of the Midwestern states were hit by a derecho. In case you don’t know, a derecho is a rare storm made up of straight-line winds that can reach 100 mph. The winds of a derecho can rip roofs off and completely destroy homes. Our friends and family in Iowa told us how devastating the storm was and how scary it was to be a part of. The derecho came up during the afternoon on a “regular” day and struck when many people were at work or were outdoors doing normal summertime activities. One friend told us she watched the storm for a few minutes before retreating to her basement for shelter. The only thing she could see due to the extremely heavy rain was the wind tossing items across her deck as if they were weightless. She saw her husband’s heavy grill blow off the deck as if it was a feather blowing in the wind. After coming up out of the basement when the storm passed she said her neighborhood looked like a battlefield. Roofs were torn off, windows were broken, and power lines were down. While some of their mature trees survived the storm, she noticed that one of her newly planted trees was ripped out of the soil like a gardener might pull a weed. The young tree had not had a chance to establish the deep roots it would need to survive a storm like derecho.
In our lives we will face many storms. Many of those storms, like the derecho in Iowa, seemingly come out of nowhere. If we do not have our lives rooted in Christ we can be uprooted like a young tree. As Christians we have the opportunity to know Jesus as our Savior and to follow His teaching in the Bible. When we build our lives around Him our spiritual roots grow deeper and we are not as quick to wander.
I love the encouragement from Psalm 1:3 when talking about a man who delights in the Lord and meditates on his Word day and night. “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
I want to encourage you to deepen your relationship with Christ and strengthen your spiritual roots. Don’t let the difficult storms become bigger than Jesus’ promises. Are you learning more about Him by spending time in the Word? Do you look to Him for help? Do you trust that He will guide your life? As you spend more time in the Bible and in prayer, your relationship with Christ will grow and your faith will become more firmly rooted. Build your life on Him!
- Evan