Jeremiah 17:7-8

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”  Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT

This scripture paints a picture of trees that roots are deep enough to reach water, even in times of intense heat or drought; they are still green and produce fruit. There roots are deep enough, they are grounded into the source that keeps them alive, green and producing fruit even when the environment around them is not desirable.
 

We can live our lives like these trees planted so deep in God’s word that we can continue to flourish even in times of stress, torment, drought and conflict. We know where our source comes from, we are continually connected into God and His provision so even in times of deep valleys we can continue to grow, we can continue to move forward and we can continue to produce fruit.
 

The word planted means: set or place in a particular position - put, place, set, position, station, situate, settle, stick, fix.
 

When we ‘set’ our foundations in God we can weather any storm because we are ‘positioned’ correctly. We have the provision needed for every circumstance we find ourselves in and we can endure the season for however long it takes because our source is God. Our roots go deep into living water.

We may all go through times when we feel, lonely, isolated, like nothing is getting any better, where the season we are in just seems to be going on forever but these are the times when we have to press in, where we have to keep going because God has us there for a reason.
 

These are the times when we have to worship God with our whole heart, when we need to be still and know that He is God, where we know He is our safe refuge and at times our hiding place.
When you feel ready to give up, give in, let go and step aside, that’s when we need to worship louder, keep reading scripture, press in and keep going, trusting God, listening to His voice and doing what He is asking of us. 
There are times of intense heat, or severe drought when we don’t understand or really know what to do next, but if our roots are deeply grounded in God we will find the strength to keep going, we will produce fruit as we persevere, we will hear God respond with love and encouragement deep in our soul.
 

Keep doing what God has told you to do no matter the season you are in. Do it for God’s applause, not the applause of man.

Romans 2:29 – "No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people."
 

I understand that what people think of you matters, I get that, truly. I know we are told it doesn’t matter but it is something I struggle with myself. The fear of what man may think, I’m not worthy, they will be wondering why I am doing that, I’m not good enough and so on. We need to be okay with people not liking us, or not understanding what we are doing. Not everybody is going to ‘get’ you and that is okay.
I know I am a people pleaser and I want people to like me and not everyone does, but I need the praise from my God in heaven more than from the people I do everyday life with.
This is hard but something God has been teaching me. I need His words “Well done, good and faithful servant” to be the words that mean the most to me, not the approval or permission from the people around me.
 

God is teaching me to grow roots deep into His living water, His supply that never runs dry, His truth about how He sees me and guess what? I am enough, "Christ is in me, I am enough."
I can do all He has called me to do through Him. I can’t do it myself but I can do it with God, His way, connected to all He has for me by trusting Him and making the Lord my hope and confidence.