Roots Run Deep
"...And if the root be holy, the branches are too (Romans 11:16). Where are your roots? Where do your roots lead? What kind of ground do your roots have to grow in? Are they growing in fresh, fertile and moist ground? Or are they trying to grow through hot, parched, waterless dessert?
In the southeast of The United States, we have a type of dirt called red clay. That dirt is red and it's hard. I once planted a small tree in the yard. The kind of soil we had was, yep you guessed it, red clay. I had to mix potting soil in the hole and borrow a neighbor's pick just to be able to dig through the ground to plant the tree. The ground was hard. But the potting soil enabled the young roots to thrive. The type of soil and the type of root matters.
What kind of roots do you have? There are all types of roots. There are roots to flowers. There are roots to weeds. There are roots to trees. There are roots to vines. There are roots to grass and there are roots to other small plants.
There are roots for foods that are healthy, such as vegetables and grains. There are roots for plants that can hurt us or kill us. All roots aren't the same. All roots aren't good for us.
What kind of roots do you have? Are they holy roots or unholy roots? Are they roots of faith or roots of fear? The root gives stability. It's through the roots where the plant receives its' water and nourishment. What kind of nourishment are your roots receiving?
I wish I could tell you that I've always grown the holy roots and given those roots the nourishment they needed to grow and thrive. But, I haven't. Yet God has given me the grace and shown me ways to develop and nourish those roots of holiness. If you haven't developed holy roots of faith and nourished them, don't beat yourself up. Don't say God doesn't love you, because He does. He loved me through it and He loves you too.
There are basically five roots of fear that hold you back. Intimidation, lower level focus, self preservation, unholy agreements and helplessness. Any one of these roots can be enough to cause you to walk in fear and hold back from your God-given destiny and calling. Again, it doesn't matter if your calling is to raise children, be a wonderful spouse, love your children, start a business or church, or be a top leader in the sphere of influence God has called you. Any one of the roots of fear can paralyze you, cause you to question your calling, question yourself, question God's love for you or any number of other negative results coming from fear.
1. Intimidation - Intimidation occurs when you stop walking in your God given authority. This is what happened with Adam. Adam and Eve had been given authority over all creation. Adam was standing with Eve as she had her deadly conversation with the serpent. Adam refused to use his authority over the serpent and over Satan. In whatever destiny and calling God has for you, intimidation can occur the moment you step out of your God-given authority.
2. Lower Level Focus - Lower level focus occurs when you don't keep your eyes on your standing with Christ and who you are with Christ. We are told in Colossians to focus on those things above and not below. Lower level focus can cause you to stop realizing you have Heavenly genetics. Lower level focus causes you to stop realizing you have the glory of Jesus which was given you by Him (John 17).
3. Self Preservation - The Bible tells us that we should die daily in order to follow Christ. Self preservation is when we seek to keep from "dying". We also move into the realm of self preservation, when you are a people pleaser and become concerned about other people's opinions. When you begin to look at your perceived limitations and tell yourself "I can't do this" or "who am I to be here?" or "I'll be found out to be a fraud", the self preservation root takes hold.
4. Unholy Agreements - "...having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross". This statement is from Colossians chapter 2 and verse14. It tells us of one of the things that was done for us when Jesus was crucified. The decrees mentioned are those spoken against us by demonic forces, others and ourselves. When negative statements are made, such as "I am a failure or you are a failure", we can either agree or disagree with them. When we agree with these statements or "negative decrees", we are moving into the realm of unholy agreements.
5. Helplessness - When God called Moses to deliver Israel from the hands of Egypt, all Moses could do was give reasons why he couldn't be the one to do it. Moses had one excuse after another; "I can't speak", "what if they don't believe me", "who am I". God gave Moses reasons why he could, because God would be with him. But, that wasn't enough. Moses focused on his limitations and felt helpless to do anything about the situation. When we experience helplessness, we believe our actions won't matter, that nothing we do will make a difference.
In the southeast of The United States, we have a type of dirt called red clay. That dirt is red and it's hard. I once planted a small tree in the yard. The kind of soil we had was, yep you guessed it, red clay. I had to mix potting soil in the hole and borrow a neighbor's pick just to be able to dig through the ground to plant the tree. The ground was hard. But the potting soil enabled the young roots to thrive. The type of soil and the type of root matters.
What kind of roots do you have? There are all types of roots. There are roots to flowers. There are roots to weeds. There are roots to trees. There are roots to vines. There are roots to grass and there are roots to other small plants.
There are roots for foods that are healthy, such as vegetables and grains. There are roots for plants that can hurt us or kill us. All roots aren't the same. All roots aren't good for us.
What kind of roots do you have? Are they holy roots or unholy roots? Are they roots of faith or roots of fear? The root gives stability. It's through the roots where the plant receives its' water and nourishment. What kind of nourishment are your roots receiving?
I wish I could tell you that I've always grown the holy roots and given those roots the nourishment they needed to grow and thrive. But, I haven't. Yet God has given me the grace and shown me ways to develop and nourish those roots of holiness. If you haven't developed holy roots of faith and nourished them, don't beat yourself up. Don't say God doesn't love you, because He does. He loved me through it and He loves you too.
There are basically five roots of fear that hold you back. Intimidation, lower level focus, self preservation, unholy agreements and helplessness. Any one of these roots can be enough to cause you to walk in fear and hold back from your God-given destiny and calling. Again, it doesn't matter if your calling is to raise children, be a wonderful spouse, love your children, start a business or church, or be a top leader in the sphere of influence God has called you. Any one of the roots of fear can paralyze you, cause you to question your calling, question yourself, question God's love for you or any number of other negative results coming from fear.
1. Intimidation - Intimidation occurs when you stop walking in your God given authority. This is what happened with Adam. Adam and Eve had been given authority over all creation. Adam was standing with Eve as she had her deadly conversation with the serpent. Adam refused to use his authority over the serpent and over Satan. In whatever destiny and calling God has for you, intimidation can occur the moment you step out of your God-given authority.
2. Lower Level Focus - Lower level focus occurs when you don't keep your eyes on your standing with Christ and who you are with Christ. We are told in Colossians to focus on those things above and not below. Lower level focus can cause you to stop realizing you have Heavenly genetics. Lower level focus causes you to stop realizing you have the glory of Jesus which was given you by Him (John 17).
3. Self Preservation - The Bible tells us that we should die daily in order to follow Christ. Self preservation is when we seek to keep from "dying". We also move into the realm of self preservation, when you are a people pleaser and become concerned about other people's opinions. When you begin to look at your perceived limitations and tell yourself "I can't do this" or "who am I to be here?" or "I'll be found out to be a fraud", the self preservation root takes hold.
4. Unholy Agreements - "...having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross". This statement is from Colossians chapter 2 and verse14. It tells us of one of the things that was done for us when Jesus was crucified. The decrees mentioned are those spoken against us by demonic forces, others and ourselves. When negative statements are made, such as "I am a failure or you are a failure", we can either agree or disagree with them. When we agree with these statements or "negative decrees", we are moving into the realm of unholy agreements.
5. Helplessness - When God called Moses to deliver Israel from the hands of Egypt, all Moses could do was give reasons why he couldn't be the one to do it. Moses had one excuse after another; "I can't speak", "what if they don't believe me", "who am I". God gave Moses reasons why he could, because God would be with him. But, that wasn't enough. Moses focused on his limitations and felt helpless to do anything about the situation. When we experience helplessness, we believe our actions won't matter, that nothing we do will make a difference.
These are the five basic roots of fear we experience. The deeper and stronger those roots are, the stronger our fear is. The stronger the tree of fear is, the more in danger we are of experiencing fear's affects and the more paralyzed we will be in the pursuit of God's calling upon us.
Jesus would tell one who was lame to "take up your mat and walk". Perhaps it's time to take up your mat and walk from fear to faith.
Jesus would tell one who was lame to "take up your mat and walk". Perhaps it's time to take up your mat and walk from fear to faith.
