"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
Have you ever wondered how someone, maybe a friend, relative, pastor, etc... just ups and leaves their faith/beliefs and church all together?
Well you're not the only one. This topic has been on my heart for some time now because I've seen so many people; friends and all just suddenly stop coming to church, stop posting scriptures, stop coming to bible studies, in relationships that don't glorify God, posting half naked pictures, cussing up a storm, etc... And all I could think is "Lord, how is that possible??" And He told me "Because they were not rooted in my Word."
Rooted means to be; embedded, fixed, established, entrenched, ingrained.
You see you can go to church, preach your heart out, teach Sunday school every weekend, sing on the praise team, but if your life isn't planted and embedded deep down in the Word of God then you will not be able to stand firm when the enemy comes in like a flood to attack you. The enemy knows your weakness. He isn't blind to our daily struggles in life. He knows that if he can just get you to take a sip of that drink you'll become an alcoholic or if you watch/listen to certain music it will get you in your feelings long enough you'll go indulge in premarital sex. The enemy is out to destroy each and everyone of us; his plan is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). The enemy wants to separate us from the Truth (God)! Because if he can get enough space between us and God; he has enough room to allow his lies to seep through and mess with our hearts, minds, and souls.
Maybe you know someone who has left their faith, beliefs, and church and are now living in a life of sin that they swore they would never live or that they didn't plan to live, but now they are in it and they don't know how they even got that far... well let me be completely honest with you all it all starts with step one: Believing a lie. Somewhere in their life they stopped believing in truth, they allowed a little bit of sin into their lives and the enemy deceived them into believing that because it it's not that "big" of a sin and nobody will ever find out, that it is okay to do it. and then they start believing another lie and then another one...until they are caught up in the enemy's web of lies and are so far gone they don't even realize it. As I'm sitting here writing this quote just came to mind: "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay."
That is why it is SO IMPORTANT to guard your heart and to hide the Truth of God's word in your hearts and renew our minds daily! Psalms 119:11 says "I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You." Then in Romans 12:2 says "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." The only way to believe a lie is to not know the truth. That is why we have to make sure we know the truth of God's word so we can fight the enemy back with the TRUTH. "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" ~John 8:32.
So stay encourage, and choose today to stay rooted in the TRUTH of God's word and have faith that what ever the enemy tries to throw at you and knock you down with, today, tomorrow, or in the future, that you will not be moved. That you will know the scriptures and throw them back at him and his lies.. The bible is your sword! This fight against the enemy isn't physical it is spiritual (Ephesians 6:12-13).
My prayer for us today is that God will open our spiritual eyes to see and know the truth. That we will be like that tree planted by the water, that we will be grounded and ready to stand when the storms of life come to knock us down, when the enemy tell us that we should stop living this "Christian life" and all the other lies he tries to shower you in. I pray for the souls that have fell into the lies of the enemy, that they will be set free from the enemies hold. That God will remind them of His Word and they will come back to the TRUTH! Amen!
Love your sis in Christ,
Joy J :)
