Rotten Roots and Good Roots

The day I had to pull out the dead seedlings was the day I saw the roots in a different way. I was saddened to see they had to get thrown. There would be no use for the dry, dead, roots. No regrowth, no fruits or veggies to come out of them.

My heart sank, and discouragement settled in. “I failed at this gardening thing” I thought to myself. But as the Lord pressed on my heart to get back up and try again, I knew there was a reason.

Roots are very sensitive and must be handled with lots of care. They are like a baby who needs tender, care, love, nourishment and patience.

My husband and I began to turn over our dirt with the tiller, add the new ingredients to our soil, and began planting in our new seeds into the seedlings tray, praying they will sprout and hoping it won’t be late in the season to use seeds.

Roots dig deep into the soil and foundation. It is their very source of life to produce life. Without roots, there’s not growth. No producing of any kind. Roots also need room to spread, there’s no way they can grow if roots are limited to a smaller container than what you purchased them in.

Our spiritual life, also, is very much the same.

As we grow deeper and abide in Christ, our roots are then exposed showing us what roots we have inside of us.

There is good roots and bad roots. Bad roots are rotten that will reveal and show outwardly on the plant. It either withers or dies immediately. Good roots begin to bring life into the plant flourishing and bringing in an abundance of growth.

In our spiritual lives, bad roots are the things we have received and believed that are not truth, but false, lies the enemy planted. Such as, I’m a failure, I’m not worthy, I’m unloved, I’m too far gone, God doesn’t love me, I’m ugly, etc.

Good roots in our spiritual life are words we believe and receive that are truth (from the Word) such as: I am fearfully and wonderfully made, Christ lives in me therefore I am his beloved, Christ died for me because he loves me, I am beautiful and good because God created all things good including me, Christ leaves the 99 for me, etc.

Bad roots take up space leaving no room for the good roots to grow, spread, or flourish.

Countless of times I have found myself believing lies, not truth.

But by his grace, his new morning mercies, his faithfulness and goodness, he was able to reveal to me the lies I believed, uprooted them, and began to help grow and flourish the good roots. I began to memorize the scripture I needed to replace those lies I believed, and spoke to myself daily about it until I believed it to be true.

Maybe you’re at the point sis, where you want those bad roots exposed, uprooted, and removed.

Maybe you’re not even sure what lies you believed or if you have believed any…

I want to leave you with a few questions.

Challenging Questions:

1. What lies have you agreed with?
2. What words were spoken of you, to you, or about you that you somehow believed?
3. Sit today, 15 minutes, with the Father, have a journal ready and a pen, and ask Him to reveal the lies you bought into, the ones you believed, so that you can begin afresh and new.
4. Ask Him who he says you are… and how he sees you. Now don’t get discouraged if he doesn’t show you right away. This is a process, much like a plant that has a steady process… our spiritual lives do too. But know that He will be faithful in showing you.
5. How can you begin to replace those lies today?
   

Being a deeply rooted woman of God digs her roots deep down in Christ, abiding in Him, and delighting in Him. She knows her worth is not found in people, possessions, or praises, only in Christ. As the deeply rooted woman of God, she gets herself nourished by her Savior allowing truth to speak louder than lies. It is then, her roots become like this very picture, strong, sturdy, and always hydrated by the Word of God.

Verses to Ponder:

• John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
• Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
• John 4:14 “but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'”

If you missed last week’s message, visit it here! We will continue our last day on the series, “Lessons in the Garden” next Thursday.