RootedSample

Day 2

We follow what feeds us. But have you ever stopped to consider if what’s feeding you is actually fueling you? Or worse, what if what’s feeding you is actually making you sick?

Jeremiah 17:8 says the person who trusts in the Lord is “like a tree planted by the streams, whose roots reach down to the water.”

Studies show we reach for our phones over 100 times a day. We scroll through Instagram feeds, Twitter feeds, and news feeds daily (hourly?), but is all that scrolling strengthening us?

It’s possible to be planted in the right place — exactly where God’s called you — but burn out because you reach for the wrong things to feed you. What do you reach for first when you’re feeling overwhelmed? What do you reach for most? If we reach for likes and larger platforms, we’ll eventually find ourselves drained. We’re called to feed God’s people, but sometimes we get it twisted when we’re leading; instead of feeding God’s people, we use them to feed our own egos. Likes and platforms aren’t bad, but they can’t be the source you reach for to fuel your leadership.

Another translation of Jeremiah 17 says a leader who trusts in God has roots that “reach deep into the water.” (NLT) This image illustrates a paradox to leadership. We assume good leadership always moves up and to the right, but before God takes you higher, He often leads you deeper. The problem with going deeper is it’s often darker… and dirtier.

Maybe God has you in a place that feels uncertain and dark right now… but what if it’s because that’s the place He wants to nourish you? Maybe He’s calling you to begin counseling so you can work through hurts you thought were buried too deep to really matter. Maybe He’s asking you to forgive someone, but that feels messy.

Culture will tell you to take your reach wide, but how deep you reach ultimately determines how high you grow. It may feel counterintuitive, but you reach deep and then trust God to take your reach wide.

If you continually reach for His hand, He’ll put opportunities in yours.

Deep roots don’t happen overnight and it’s often the struggles of life that cause us to dig deeper and get stronger. The thing that feels like it’s breaking you today may be the very thing God is using to build you into a better leader tomorrow. Be patient with the process and trust the work God is doing beneath the surface. Deep roots don’t just help you live through the storm, they help you lead through the storm — but roots begin with your reach.