“Its roots are the means whereby a plant is nourished, the channel through which its life is derived. No plant can live without a root-system. Equipped with one it may survive in the most unpromising conditions.”

(from A Table In The Wilderness by Watchman Nee, March 1st)

During the month of December I was given a few bamboo shoots. Having never had a plant such as these, I googled to discover they can grow in several environments – dirt, stone, or water. The only hitch is that however you start, it is best to continue. So I chose to grow them in water thinking it would be different and interesting to watch the growth. (I wrote about my bamboo plant here as well.)

At the time, I thought water would be a most unlikely environment for the plants to thrive but thrive they have.

“My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground.” (Isaiah 53:2, NLT)

Dry soil is not exactly fertile ground for ideal conditions for the growth of vegetation. Many plants would not survive, never mind, thrive.

Yet we are told this servant both grew and did thrive in the unlikeliest of places. There are certain ideal conditions necessary for growth, and a few questions we must ask ourselves:

• Dwell. We must dwell where we will thrive and there is no better place than close to the Lord. “I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet” (Psalm 27:4, MSG). Where are you dwelling?
• Watering. Our lives are kept pure as we spend time in God’s Word. “He {Christ} gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word” (Ephesians 5:25b-26, NLT). Are you being sufficiently watered?
• Community. We need one another. “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NLT). We will grow, strengthening day by day, receiving motivation and inspiration from one another. “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works”
  (Hebrews 10:24, NLT). Who is encouraging you, coming alongside of you, cheering you on?
  

As these three key components align in our lives, we will grow and thrive even in the most unlikely places. Our circumstances will not destroy us as our roots go deep in Him.

Equipped, in and through Christ,
we “survive in the most unpromising conditions”.
Grow your roots deeply in Him.

Today I am joining … Porch Stories and Tell His Story and Coffee For Your Heart and Woman to Woman .