“An oak tree has only a couple of months of actual growth . . . The rest of the year, the other ten months, are spent solidifying that growth.”
The Good and Beautiful God, p. 186
I jotted that quote in my journal on December 29, 2019. Following it were four major lessons I felt God was still solidifying in my life:
- Be awake and grateful each moment
- Rest humbles me, nourishes me, and honors God
- I’m valuable and valued before I do a thing
- Listen, really listen, to Jesus and keep in step with him, letting him carry the weight of the yoke
As I continued to look back through journal entries from 2020, reviewing the year prayerfully, I discovered something. Actually, I discovered nothing. Nothing new, that is. Those same four principles–gratitude, rest, identity, and listening–kept repeating themselves. I watched them deepen as I wrestled with God in my exhaustion and questioned whether or not to pull away from a few key responsibilities, and I saw them solidify in my life as I accepted His invitation to a quiet season of restoration.
Be Rooted and Established
In October, God again used the imagery of a tree to remind me that in order to sustain the weight of wide branches and to bear good fruit, I need deep, strong roots. As I prune back the outward places where I’m attempting to produce things for Him, I have time and energy to solidify previous growth and send those roots down deeper into his love.
A week or so later, a friend shared a verse with me on a birthday card:
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
It fit perfectly with what God had been whispering to my heart, but at that point I’d totally forgotten the quote about the oak tree. So, naturally, I was delighted when I connected the dots and found a simple, yet profound theme running throughout my year.
I can basically sum it up as this: Be rooted and established in love. (From Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians in chapter 3.)
Rooted = drawing nourishment and strength from Christ’s love.
Established = solidifying those practices that keep me in Christ’s love by simply doing them over and over again.
How gentle and patient is our God! He doesn’t force us into new growth or fruitfulness. Instead, He orchestrates the seasons in our lives to allow time for restoration, rootedness, and solidification.
He knows my weaknesses. My proclivity to wander back into production mode, finding my worth in what I do rather than in His vast love for me. He offers me opportunity after opportunity to solidify my forever-identity as His beloved.
And, out of that promise from Jeremiah, I know that if my roots are deep in the stream of His love, then I won’t be shaken in the next storm and I will produce fruit without even trying.
Honestly, I have a sweet sense of relief knowing that I don’t need a new word, a giant dream, or even a measurable goal for this year. I need Jesus and to keep practicing abiding in His love. For now, I’m resting in that.
Strengthen Your Roots
- List 3 to 5 lessons/themes that God keeps bringing to the forefront of your life.
- Have patience with yourself as you recognize that the repetition of these lessons doesn’t indicate failure, but a solidification of growth.
- How can you cooperate more actively with the Spirit’s work in your life in just one of these areas right now?
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