How To Be A Woman Of Faith Deeply Rooted In Christ
4 years ago I was at an all-time low in my faith. I had spent most of my life worrying more about what other people thought of me than who God says I am as His daughter. I was in the middle of a friendship gone south and for weeks I had allowed myself to be consumed with what one person thought about me and what they were saying to other people.
A person who I thought was a friend but was making it their personal mission to attack and belittle me. I spent more than 3 weeks trying to talk this situation out with her and get to the bottom of where it was all coming from. Despite feeling betrayed and deeply hurt, it was a situation that I never got closure from. One week we were friends and building a business together and the next week without explanation I was blocked on social media.
Maybe you have been faced with something similar by a close friend or even worse, a family member. It can definitely leave you feeling dazed and confused.
While it was a difficult situation at the time, looking back it was also an incredible blessing for it was the beginning of a journey that led me back to who I am, to me loving myself again. It pushed me to the edge of having to take a long hard look at myself and my priorities. I had to start asking where I was planting myself. The answer was not a pretty one.
I had planted my tree and was rooting myself in pleasing others, comparison, perfectionism, what other people thought of me, what society demanded, in saying yes in order not to disappoint someone even though it was going to spread my time and energy too thin and lead to resentment. I was rooting myself in the need to be more and have more. Success in a network marketing business had led me down a path of making some seriously bad financial decisions in order to fit in and keep up with what other people were doing and expected of me.
When we don't own who we are in Christ, we are spiritually broken and find ourselves in a perpetual vicious cycle of unworthiness, not feeling "good enough" and we open the door of our soul wide open with a red carpet invitation for the enemy. "Come on in devil, here I am, broken and vulnerable. Have fun wrecking my heart and my life!". While none of us would dare ever utter those words with our mouths, that is essentially what we are doing with our spirits when we separate ourselves from God and honoring His design as women.
Jesus gives us a loving but stern reminder of what happens to those who are not deeply rooted in Him: “They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.” Luke 8:13.
Through this "Parable of the Sower", Jesus teaches that those who start their journey in Christ, start out strong and receive the truth with joy but without investing oneself to be deeply rooted in Him, the daily struggles of life and temptations can take over and they easily fall and turn away from Him. This lesson serves as a reminder to us as women of faith the importance of being deeply rooted in God's word.
Being rooted in Christ means we have a strong desire to know Him, to have faith in Him even when it's difficult to understand, to spend time in His presence daily to grow stronger in our faith. It means we submit to Him and trust in Him with every part of our lives.
Being rooted in Christ keeps us grounded and settled. I don't want to be gripped by worry or comparison. I want to be a woman deeply planted in faith by His living waters. I want to be a woman who can bend and not break when the strong winds of life try to blow me over. I want to be a woman who flourishes for the glory of His kingdom bearing good fruit.
"For he 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." Jeremiah 17:8
When we are deeply rooted in Christ, we can lay down our burdens of fear, we can stay full of joy when others are judgmental and we can draw from His spiritual well when we have bouts of self-doubt.
As a creative personality, I am a very visual learner. I often spend time writing and drawing out my thoughts so I can fully embrace the message God has for me. In my journey to face my own struggles and go to war with the enemy, I needed to visualize where my roots were and how it was affecting me.
Being deeply rooted in people pleasing, comparison, perfectionism, in society, the opinions of others and material things meant I was vulnerable to the enemy, constantly felt unworthy, believed I was not "good enough", my spiritual well was bone dry and I had separated myself from God and His will for my life. I had become spiritually broken. Eye opening to say the least and why my life was such a wreck.
But here is the good news in all of this, it's never too late to receive God's grace. To return to Him and receive His mercy. His love endures all and never ceases. Nothing, and I mean nothing is too big for Him. That is how much He loves me, and you.
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9
When I am deeply rooted in Christ and accept my inheritance and identity in Him and only Him, I can flourish and thrive to bear good fruit. I can face rejection trusting Him to redirect me to something better. I value His approval above all else and own my worth in who I am in Christ as a chosen daughter of the one true King. I am aligned with God and His will for my life and can fight against the lies of the enemy because my spiritual well is overflowing with His truth.
ARE YOU READY TO BE A WOMAN OF FAITH DEEPLY ROOTED IN CHRIST?
I want to encourage you beautiful friend because this process is not an overnight one. I wish I could give you a little prayer to utter and just like that you will be released from all of your struggles. While prayer is your direct lifeline to God and your number one spiritual weapon against the schemes of a relentless enemy, the process of being rooted, grounded, and settled in Christ requires daily intentional work and dedication.
It's walking daily with Him by making quality time in His word and in prayer a number one priority.
It's putting God at the center of all you do.
It's allowing God to break you open so you can grow into who He has created you to be.
It's trusting in Him fully and completely even when you don't have any answers or closure. You may not know why but God does and you can find peace in that place because it's enough. (In my planner I have "peace be still" written on the very first page and it brings me so much comfort.)
It's believing that you are never too broken to be healed, giving God the shattered pieces and trusting Him to do the mending.
It's blessing and releasing that sick feeling in your stomach when someone wrongs you or unfriends you on social media because you are laying it all down at the foot of the cross, fully trusting in God to watch over you and protect you.
It's digging deep with Him even when it's painful or uncomfortable because you know He has something important to reveal and planned for you. He promises to work all things, even the icky broken shameful things you want to keep hidden, for your good.
It's trusting God when He calls on you despite feeling completely unworthy and unqualified because you know He will complete His work in you.
It's owning who you are in Christ above all else.
I pray this encourages you. I pray you never again question your worth or allow the enemy to use someone to make you feel small or less than. I pray you can find peace in Him and in who He says you are. There is tremendous joy and freedom waiting for you when you surrender into being completely and deeply rooted in His grace.
"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6-7
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