Rooted and Grounded

 Rooted and grounded in Him
  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,
so walk ye in him.
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith
as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving
(Colosians 2:6,7)





   Recently, due to some personal issues I went through a time of discouragement.  When we get discouraged it is much easier to walk away from God's revealed will.  It shouldn't happen but for many reasons it does.  During that time God's Spirit began reminding me of these scriptures.  They were life to me and spoke the wisdom of God into my situation!  Are you in a time of discouragement?  Come with me and let us look at the Wisdom of God.
Let's first look at:  

  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,
                                     so walk ye in him.
 
  ....Paying attention to the underlined text:walk ye in him I don't know about you but I need to understand the Word of God in my mind.  The Word of God says walk ye in him  Ok,
find....How do I do that?   What is God requiring of me in this situation? Say I work as a mechanic at a car dealership.  If the information I know concerning cars is not workable knowledge how am I able to fix a car?  Concerning the Word of God we need to be clear as to our understanding and our responsibility to God.  The next scripture holds that answer but we are going to have to dig a little bit.
 
 


Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith
as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving





    Paying attention again to the underlined text, lets look at them one at time in the order they are written:
  Rooted:      Rooted here in the Greek means... a channel as with a stream to flow
                    together.  It mentions in the base Greek root word, sparkle and cheerful.
  built up       Built up here in the Greek means;  to rear up, to build thereon.
  stablished    Stablished means: Walk, steadfast, firm.
  abounding   Abounding here means: super abound, in excess, abundant.
 
    If we take these definitions in the order they are written we can see God's order of importance.  Number 1 is coveted joyful, flowing together as one (intimate) relationship with the Lord Jesus.  Number 2 is the realization that this is what God wants us to build upon.    Number 3 is reminder to be secure in knowing our right to that relationship.  Number 4 is a by product of the other 3.
    It's a relief to know that God wants a relationship with us more than any sort of performance.  IF that was the premise of one's value to God it could be very discouraging especially if you weren't a exceptional performer.
May God richly bless you and encourage your heart!


Pete