4 Things Plant Roots Can Teach Us About Abiding in God’s Word

If God is going to be first in our hearts and the “Ultimate Priority” of our lives, we must develop a root system anchored deep in Him. Just like a plant with its roots hidden underground, you and I—out of public view and alone with God—are to draw from Him all that we need to live the abundant life He has promised His children (John 10:10). We must seek to live our lives near to God—indeed, hidden in Him! As we seek a deeper life in Christ, we do well to consider some facts about roots.

1) Roots are unseen

Like a creeping fig or any other plant, your spiritual roots are underground, invisible to others. I’m talking about your private life, your hidden life, the secret life you enjoy with God out of the public eye.

It’s easy to think that what counts in the Christian life is the time spent in public with people, people, and more people. We seem to always be with people—people at work, people on campus, people in the dorms, people from Bible studies, people we live with, people in discipleship settings or fellowship groups.

But the truth is that “the greater the proportion of your day—of your life—spent hidden in quiet, in reflection, in prayer, [in study,] in scheduling, in preparation, the greater will be the effectiveness, the impact, the power, of the part of your life that shows.”¹ As I heard one Christian leader say, you cannot be with people all of the time and have a ministry to people. The impact of your ministry to people will be in direct proportion to the time you spend away from people and with God.

2) Roots are for taking in

What happens when you and I do slip away to be with God in study and prayer? We receive. We take in. We are nurtured and fed. We ensure our spiritual health and growth. When we spend time with Christ, He supplies us with strength and encourages us in the pursuit of His ways.

I call this time with God “the great exchange.” Away from the world and hidden from public view, I exchange my weariness for His strength, my weakness for His power, my darkness for His light, my problems for His solutions, my burdens for His freedom, my frustrations for His peace, my turmoil for His calm, my hopes for His promises, my afflictions for His balm of comfort, my questions for His answers, my confusion for His knowledge, my doubt for His assurance, my nothingness for His awesomeness, the temporal for the eternal, and the impossible for the possible.

3) Roots are for storage

Roots serve as a reservoir of what we need. Jeremiah 17 tells us that the person who trusts in the Lord…

shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

which spreads out its roots by the river,

and will not fear when heat comes;

but its leaf will be green,

and will not be anxious in the year of drought,

nor will cease from yielding fruit (verse 8).

As you and I regularly draw needed refreshment from God’s Word, He creates in us a reservoir of hope and strength in Him. Then, when times are rough, we won’t be depleted. We won’t dry up, disintegrate, or die. We won’t run out of gas, collapse, become exhausted, or give out. Instead we will simply reach down into our hidden reservoir of refreshment and draw out what we need right now from what God has given us. We will be able to go from “strength to strength” (Psalm 84:7).

Roots deep into God’s truth are definitely needed as reserves when times are rough

4) Roots are for support

Without a well-developed root system, we become top-heavy—lots of leafy, heavy foliage appears above ground but nothing supports it from underneath. Without a network of strong roots, sooner or later we have to be staked up, tied up, propped up, straightened up—until the next wind comes along and we fall over again. But with firm, healthy roots, no wind can blow us down.

Yes, the support of a healthy root system is vital for standing strong in the Lord! I’m reminded of the process used in bygone days for growing the trees that became the main masts for military and merchant ships. The great shipbuilders first selected a tree located on the top of a high hill as a potential mast. Then they cut away all of the surrounding trees that would shield the chosen one from the force of the wind. As the years went by and the winds blew fiercely against the tree, the tree grew stronger until finally it was strong enough to be the foremast of a ship. When we have a solid root system, we too can gain the strength needed for standing firm in spite of the pressures of life!