"But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)
Your roots are dying, and they're telling you why. You can blame circumstances, spiritual dryness, or God's silence. But your roots know the truth. They're wrapped around sources that are killing them slowly. What you're feeding on is what's making you spiritually dead, and your roots don't lie about it.
Jeremiah contrasts two kinds of people with brutal honesty. One trusts in the Lord and plants roots by living water. The other trusts in man and sends roots into barren ground. One stays green even in drought because their source never fails. The other withers and dies because they're feeding on what can't give life. The difference isn't luck or God's favoritism. It's where the roots go.
Your roots follow what you feed them. If you're constantly feeding on outrage, comparison, and endless scrolling, your roots wrap around poison. If you're drawing life from approval, success, or comfort, your roots are choking on sand. If you turn to anything other than Christ first, your roots are dying even if you look fine on the surface.
Paul tells you that you're meant to be "rooted and built up in him." Not in culture, not in your feelings, not in what makes you comfortable. In Christ. FIRM roots only grow when they're planted in living water. But when your roots feed on toxic streams, they rot from the inside out. You can fake spiritual health for a season, but eventually the death shows up in your life.
The scary part is that dying roots lie underground. Nobody sees them at first. You can maintain appearances while your soul slowly withers. But spiritual death doesn't stay hidden forever. The bitterness, anxiety, compromise, and emptiness you're experiencing right now are symptoms of dying roots. They're telling you exactly what's killing them.
Check what's actually feeding your soul. What do you consume when you're alone? What shapes your thoughts more: God's Word or social media? Where do you run first when you're anxious, lonely, or afraid? Your roots follow your habits, and your habits reveal what's making them die. If you're spiritually dry, look at what you've been drinking from.
Godseekers, your roots don't lie about what makes them die. Stop feeding on poison and calling it nourishment. Cut off the sources that are killing your soul. Sink your roots deep into Christ through His Word, prayer, and His people. FIRM roots only grow in living water, and anything else will kill you slowly while you pretend everything is fine.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I confess that my roots are dying because I've been feeding on poison. Forgive me for turning to sources that can't give life while neglecting the living water You offer. Show me what's killing my soul and give me the courage to cut it off completely. Help me sink my roots deep into You through Your Word, prayer, and Your people. Revive what's dying in me and grow FIRM roots that draw only from streams that give life. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Personal Reflection
- What am I feeding on that's slowly killing my spiritual roots, and what symptoms of spiritual death am I ignoring?
- What would it look like for me to cut off toxic sources completely and redirect my roots toward Christ as my only source of life?
Step of Faith
Today, I will identify one source that's killing my spiritual roots and take immediate action to cut it off, replacing it with time in God's Word, prayer, or connection with His people.
