Staying Rooted
"They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper." - Psalm 1:3
The person described in Psalm 1 is not someone who achieved great things. Read it again and notice what is actually being praised.
They are planted. That is the whole picture. Not striving, not climbing, not producing at an impressive rate. Planted by streams of water, consistently nourished, quietly growing. And because of that rootedness, they bear fruit in season and their leaves do not wither when the heat comes.
Notice the phrase "in its season." Not constantly. Not on demand. Trees are not anxious about producing fruit in January. They are simply rooted where the water is, and when the season arrives, the fruit arrives with it.
Most of us have that backward. We measure our spiritual lives by output and then panic in the seasons when there is not much to show. But the psalm does not measure the fruit. It measures the roots.
And this is exactly what the work of justice requires. Deep roots, or the first strong wind will take you down. That wind comes in three forms: opposition from people who do not want things to change, discouragement when things change too slowly, and burnout when you have been drawing on reserves you never refilled.
Roots do not grow in a weekend. They grow through consistent prayer, consistent time in Scripture, consistent community, and the consistent practice of small disciplines that nobody applauds. The unglamorous things. The ones that feel pointless on the day you do them and turn out to be everything three years later when the ground shifts.
Nobody notices roots. That is precisely what makes them roots. The work that holds you up is almost always work that nobody applauded.
Notice too that the tree is planted by streams of water. It did not manufacture the stream. It grew where the water already was. Your job is not to generate the life. Your job is to stay where the life is.
As October ends, this is the invitation: stay rooted. Keep doing the small, faithful, unspectacular things that keep you connected to the source. The fruit will come, and it will come from the roots, never from the striving.
Look back over your spiritual practices this month. What has actually been nourishing you? What has gone missing without you deciding to drop it? Make one adjustment this week, just one, that will help you stay better rooted going into November.
Stay planted, my friend. Your season is coming!
Prayer:
Lord, plant us deeply by your streams and keep us there. Grow roots in us that can hold when the wind comes. Let us bear fruit in season and trust you with the waiting in between. Amen.
The person described in Psalm 1 is not someone who achieved great things. Read it again and notice what is actually being praised.
They are planted. That is the whole picture. Not striving, not climbing, not producing at an impressive rate. Planted by streams of water, consistently nourished, quietly growing. And because of that rootedness, they bear fruit in season and their leaves do not wither when the heat comes.
Notice the phrase "in its season." Not constantly. Not on demand. Trees are not anxious about producing fruit in January. They are simply rooted where the water is, and when the season arrives, the fruit arrives with it.
Most of us have that backward. We measure our spiritual lives by output and then panic in the seasons when there is not much to show. But the psalm does not measure the fruit. It measures the roots.
And this is exactly what the work of justice requires. Deep roots, or the first strong wind will take you down. That wind comes in three forms: opposition from people who do not want things to change, discouragement when things change too slowly, and burnout when you have been drawing on reserves you never refilled.
Roots do not grow in a weekend. They grow through consistent prayer, consistent time in Scripture, consistent community, and the consistent practice of small disciplines that nobody applauds. The unglamorous things. The ones that feel pointless on the day you do them and turn out to be everything three years later when the ground shifts.
Nobody notices roots. That is precisely what makes them roots. The work that holds you up is almost always work that nobody applauded.
Notice too that the tree is planted by streams of water. It did not manufacture the stream. It grew where the water already was. Your job is not to generate the life. Your job is to stay where the life is.
As October ends, this is the invitation: stay rooted. Keep doing the small, faithful, unspectacular things that keep you connected to the source. The fruit will come, and it will come from the roots, never from the striving.
Look back over your spiritual practices this month. What has actually been nourishing you? What has gone missing without you deciding to drop it? Make one adjustment this week, just one, that will help you stay better rooted going into November.
Stay planted, my friend. Your season is coming!
Prayer:
Lord, plant us deeply by your streams and keep us there. Grow roots in us that can hold when the wind comes. Let us bear fruit in season and trust you with the waiting in between. Amen.
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January
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February
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March
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