In order to remain rooted, you must possess both faith as well as patience. It is through the power of both faith and patience combined that allows us to inherit the promises of God.
If we have faith without patience, over time we become discouraged or may even give up on believing that the promises will be revealed in our lives. Patience is more than waiting, it is endurance and steadfastness.
On the other hand, if we have patience without faith, we will not exercise our God-given authority to change things and can find ourselves living a life of complacency, enduring in circumstances or situations longer than necessary!
As I was meditating on this topic, I was reminded of a rather remarkable tree that I first learned about several years ago. It is called the Chinese Bamboo Tree.
You plant the seed of this tree and water and fertilize it.
After the first year, you see nothing.
A second year of watering and fertilizing goes by and still nothing.
A third year proves to be the same as again, there is no sign of life.
If you have continued to water this seed for four years, you will STILL yet to see any sprouting.
This sounds like many times and seasons of life where I have been waiting on the breakthrough.
You know what I am referring to, the space of waiting for God to bring healing, provision, reconciliation or salvation to a loved one. There’s no more effective time for the enemy to discourage and torment you than when you’re waiting on God. He knows exactly how to pinpoint the most painful, vulnerable places in your life and lead you to despair, convincing you that NOTHING is happening.
But, on the fifth year, it finally sprouts.
You see, while there were no signs of life on the outside, the seed was busy working on the inside. The Chinese Bamboo Tree was working on an intricate root system to ensure that it had roots strong enough to handle the growth. It may start slowly, but these trees can grow as much as three feet in a day!
As people, we are so used to instant results that it can be difficult to wait on the Lord. However, just like the bamboo tree, if we continue to have faith even when we don’t feel His presence as closely as we’d like, we will see that He was there all along.
God doesn’t leave us or forsake us when He wants us to stay tied.
He doesn’t forget where we are at, He’s waiting for us to get to where He wants us to be!
“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”
Proverbs 4:25-27 NIV
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