Daily Devotional

I woke up this morning and slid open my phone, and there were texts with pictures from home.  
The Midwest got hit with a major snow storm last night. My Dad in Chicago was out snow blowing his driveway and clearing off his deck. My family in Minneapolis just got a new snow blower and were excited to try it out. And my family in Green Bay couldn’t even shovel yet because the snow was still coming down…HARD. 

This same morning, Jenn sent me a picture of the sunrise outside her classroom window at Red Bank Elementary School. Beautiful. So I looked up the weather for today in Fresno, and it’s going to be sunny and 89 degrees! I grew up with snow storms, wind chills, and extremely cold weather. And I vowed that if I ever moved to a warm weather state like California, when Chicago got hit with snow, I would never rub it in by sending them pictures of palm trees and us sitting by a pool dressed in shorts and tank tops. But this morning I was tempted. 

This is the time of year when the trees and flowers are supposed to be in bloom, not covered in a foot of snow. 

Jeremiah 17:7-8 – “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is in the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit."

These verses give us a picture of what your faith looks like when it blooms. Faith that blooms does not come by trying harder, it comes by digging our roots down deep in God’s Word and trusting Him with every aspect of our lives. When our confidence is in Him rather than the circumstances around us, we become like a well-watered tree. We have security when we’re afraid. We have peace when we are stressing out. We bear fruit even when going through a desert season in our lives.

For your faith to bloom, you need…

1. Deep roots
You wake up each day and make a conscious choice to rely on God’s wisdom, not your own. Where is God’s wisdom found? In His Word. We spend time in His Word, meditating on verses and committing them to memory. And obeying. And we spend time in prayer, praising and thanking God for who He is and for His many blessings. And when this is a daily practice, our roots of faith go deep and we remain unshakable in the storms of life.

2. No fear
The heat represents the hardships and disappointments we all face. Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking if we have strong faith then we will never have any problems. But strong faith doesn’t mean we’ll never have problems, it means we are stronger in the midst of the problems. We don’t wither in weakness because our lives are built on Him, with roots that go deep.

3. Constant fruit-bearing
When our roots have grown deep in the stream of God’s presence, we are constantly bearing fruit. The Fruit of the Spirit is evident in everything we say and do. We are a blessing to those around us. And we reach out to people with the gospel where we live, work, learn and play. When we do, we bear the fruit of conversions to Christ by His grace. 

Is your faith in bloom? If not, dig down deep in God’s Word, spend time with Him in prayer, and start trusting God with every aspect of your life.

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.