Where are you Planted?

Psalm 92: 13-15, “Planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green, to declare: ‘The Lord is just, He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.’” 

Where are you planted? Where are you spending your time and money? Where are you going day-to-day? Who are you interacting with? 

If I were to ask you how you see growth in your life what would your response be? I can tell you what the world would say. The world says growth can be seen by the money someone holds, the amount of items they own, or even the clothes they wear. What if I told you true, valuable growth can be so much simpler and obtainable than that. 

Growth defined by God is seen in your closeness with Him and your ability to fully trust and surrender to Him. Growth with the Lord can be seen when we become quick to let go of our worldly struggles and quick to feel His peace as He carries every single burden we will face in this world. 

Although growth may be defined differently in the world and the word, they both have something in common. Growth is a choice. And I can stand here and tell you that choosing to grow with God will probably come much harder than the choice to grow in the world. Choosing to grow with God looks like humbling yourself before Him every single day. It looks like denying your own desires to fulfill His will for your life. It looks like saying no to the temporary gain or pleasure to see the eternal life and freedom you have in Heaven. 

Is the world going to look at you differently? Yes. There is no denying that. Jesus said it perfectly, in John 15:18-19, “‘If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.’” 

Ouch. That is definitely a little hard to hear. Why would anyone want to choose a life that is one promised to be hated by the world? I can tell you why. What the world tries to tell you is freedom is not freedom. It is bondage and only brings further pain, temptation, and distance from God, our Father. The only true freedom is found in the love of Jesus Christ. Jesus is love, without Him, there is no love, and I am choosing to be on the side of love. The side that promises an eternal life with the fullness of joy forever and ever. Now that is the subscription I want to sign up for. If that means temporary pain, temporary hate, temporary loss, so be it; because that means I have chosen Jesus and eternal relief, eternal love, and eternal gain. 

So, where are you planted? Are you planted in the club, the couch, or the church? I encourage you to get planted with the three C’s: Christ, church, and community. 

When we choose to become planted with Christ, we are choosing to be planted in the house of the Lord. The house that brings protection at all times. The house that provides shelter amongst the storm. Our Father wants to take care of us and we can allow Him to take care of us when we choose to plant ourselves in His garden. We must allow the Gardener to tend to our weeds of worry and allow Him to plant us in His fresh soil. God can take you out of the worst of situations, where you were once wilted, brush off the bad soil, and plant you in His perfect garden. 

Once we choose Christ and continue to remain planted with Him, we will see the fruit grow, and it will grow brighter and healthier the longer we remain planted in His good soil. 

I do not know about you, but I certainly want to allow myself to grow where I can thrive and represent to others what they can have too. And to reach this goal, we need Christ, church, and community. Spending time personally with Jesus, learning from those who have studied the Bible, and surrounding yourself with people who also want to grow with Christ. I have personally been able to see the fruit produced in my life when I chose the three Cs. You can always make excuses and the longer you make excuses the longer you will have to wait to see the growth God has planned for you. 

Why wait ten years to walk in God’s promises when you can walk right now. Especially when we do not know what tomorrow holds, but we know who does, and I choose to be planted in His house.