She owns a sprawling garden with lots of lovely flowers and lush leafed plants. She also has some fruits and vegetables and they all look juicy and good! So I asked her what her secret was in maintaining such a fruitful garden, and she said she does not have any except to nurture the plants by spending time caring for them every single day.
As present-day believers, our faith will grow the same way. If we take the time every single day to nourish ourselves with God’s word, seek Him intentionally through prayer, bible reading and reflection, and then weekly worship we will get to cultivate a tight and loving relationship with our Heavenly Father.
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7
Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the next step is to grow our faith. We cannot just think that we have been saved already and that we will no longer take the effort to get to know Him more. The more we get to know His character, His words, and His promises, the deeper our faith will be.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. 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.” Jeremiah 17:7-8
When we put God first in our day, we get the benefit of having His guidance and His peace. When we pray first and seek His word before we tackle our daily load, we help ourselves withstand challenges, we can brush off worldly and petty things, and we will know what matters. It helps us stay grounded, helps us be more mindful of our actions, and it nurtures our soul. It allows us to bear fruit as sons and daughters of God, and even helps us shine His light towards others.
“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” Psalm 90:14
Our faith is the foundation of our connection with the Lord. Without it we cannot please Him (Hebrews 11:6), and so we have to take the time and effort to grow it both in seasons of joy and seasons of sorrow.
“Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2:16
And so, to stay planted in Christ, we ought to be like a dedicated gardener diligently spending time nurturing both sprouting seeds and grown plants. We ought to look onto our loving Maker who causes the sun to shine, the rains to pour, and for man to till the ground. When we abide in Him, we will not only have a stronger faith, we will also get to answer His call for us to bear fruit.
“He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.” Matthew 15:13
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to
ponder on Hebrews 11:1-40 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: How do you nurture your faith in God?
Conversation with the Lord: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for giving us a way to stay rooted in you. Thank you for nurturing us with your words. Help us to remain planted in you. Amen.
