From Weak Roots to Rock-Solid Trust in Jesus

 

Puppy Love

Have you ever been in love? It's a question that most people would have answered yes to a decade ago, but it seems harder to connect with others in today’s world. 

The first stage of a connection is often "puppy love". We associate the concept primarily with tweens and teenagers, but it can happen at any age during any time of our lives.

Goggle chat says, "it is an informal term for an intense often adolescent romantic crush characterized by infatuation, excitement, and idealization similar to a puppy's adoring affection."

This type of love cannot last because it's the initial innocent stage of a relationship that is full of passion and daydreaming, but it lacks a deeper understanding of the other person. In puppy love the feelings are surface level based on looks and fantasies of what could be without any effort being put forth.

As I sat with that definition the idea made me wonder how often people fall into puppy love with Jesus and simply stay at that level.

Come with me as I paint a picture of what puppy love (weak roots) with Jesus can look like and what maturing in our faith can lead to as we begin to learn more about His character and trust in Him more.

Weak Roots  

Imagine sitting in church and hearing the Gospel message. You hear the pastor say Jesus died for your sins and because of His sacrifice we can have immortality in heaven. You fall in love with the idea of being forgiven and enjoying eternal life in heaven.

You receive the message excitedly; you answer the altar call and suddenly you find yourself in a full-blown crush with Jesus. Everyone in the room seems excited you made a public declaration of faith. Strangers are shaking your hand and congratulating you. People are actually welcoming you into the body of Christ!

You have never felt so accepted and loved in your life. You get baptized and then anti-climatically your life goes back to its regular routine.

Bills are still due. Coworkers seem to have gotten worse, but you hang in there because you believe things will get better. The people around you didn't change but you have changed enough to know that somehow it will get better.

You are hopeful. You keep attending church regularly on Sunday and each time you receive the joy of the Word. It renews you. Things begin to improve in some areas of your life, and you even start volunteering with a church group occasionally.

This is your new life in Christ. Regular church attendance, volunteering on occasion, praising with the choir every Sunday, and year after year goes by. You slip into this routine, and you don't even realize when you became a fan more than a follower of Jesus. You support all the Christian things but your relationship with Christ hasn't really grown since that day you got baptized. Does this sound familiar?

 Matthew 13:5 says “Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.”  

When the atmosphere of church creates an intense emotional response to the Gospel, we can become overwhelmed with passion for the Lord which is great! But we lack deeper understanding about what following Jesus actually entails. 

When the excitement of our new commitment begins to calm down and the everyday trials of life hit hard, the lack of discipleship can cause us to backslide into old habits, thoughts and ways.  When this happens, weak roots are showing. 

We fail to remember that once we give our lives to Christ we our new creations and the old habits and thoughts should pass away (2 Corinthians 5:17) so that we begin to see things from a biblical perspective. 

Weak roots cause you to seek advice from the world rather than the Bible. Weak roots cause you to keep celebrating pagan holidays because you will look weird to your peers if you don’t.  

Weak roots cause you to keep going to places even though the environment isn’t exactly Bible approved because everyone else is doing it. 

Weak roots are the result of seeking man’s approval before seeking God’s approval. 

The danger of weak roots is that we can look the part on the outside but inwardly we are drifting away from God which could eventually cause us to walk away.  

In order for our relationship with Jesus to mature beyond puppy love we have to water the seed by spending more time with Him not less. Reading His word daily, not just on Sunday, and allowing praise to become a lifestyle not just a Sunday activity. 

We water the seed by consistently talking with Him in prayer, and by walking with Him through various trials that produce perseverance and develop our character. 

Stronger Roots

When we willingly humble ourselves to God’s will for our lives our roots get stronger. When we accept that God designed us for a purpose and He already had that purpose planned for us before we were born, then we are able to submit to those plans. 

Spiritual maturity requires allowing Jesus to mold us into His image. As we learn more about the character of God and we draw closer to God, the Word can take root in us and we can begin to build our lives on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, our rock. 

In real life this may look like Jesus calling us away from a particular person or job that seems like a good fit. It may look like God telling you to start a business, but you don’t yet have the money.  

It can also look like Jesus telling us to wait a little longer for something He promised us would happen, even though something that looks similar to what He promised is standing right in front of us. 

This is a test of our faith. When we trust and obey His command rather than our own understanding of the situation, we are growing stronger roots. When we constantly doubt God’s plan for us, the roots stay weak. 

Trusting God will feel uncomfortable, but a strange peace will be in the midst of it. It will probably look like you are making the wrong decision, but when God leads you to do something it is for your good and it will all work out in your favor. 

You may not see it visibly but behind the scenes God is working things out for you. We have to trust and believe. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not yet seen. To grow stronger roots, we have to choose to trust Him with our lives, which means following His lead regardless of who agrees or not. 

Jesus is the rock. 

The parable of the wise and foolish builder found in Matthew 7:24-25 says “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”  

Jesus is the rock. When we obey His commands, we are building our life on a solid foundation. We are not leaning on our own understanding, but we are trusting Jesus who will lead us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 

This strengthens our faith and deepens our roots. Each storm we endure matures us spiritually which builds a rock-solid trust in the Lord that He will bring us out of it and then we can share how He brought us through it with others. 

No experience is wasted. Our testimony will help to strengthen someone else going through the exact trial we just came out of, and another testimony will help us.  There is purpose in every trial. 

Simple Habits That Build Faith

1. Pray. Talk to God often. It takes faith to pray and believe that God is listening. The more you do it, the more faith you are building. 
   
2. Read scripture daily. When we pray, we are talking to God, but when we read scripture, He is talking to us.  A daily devotional scripture can provide encouragement or focus for the day.   Reading scripture should be our daily bread. 
   
3. Meditate on the goodness of God. Gratitude is powerful. Regardless of what we go through there is always something to be thankful for so meditate on the things you do have rather than what you don’t. Think about the positives rather than the negatives and it will change your attitude. 
   
4. Praise. Listen to worship music. Sing along. Writing, drawing, painting, creating for God can be an act of praise. Take time to praise the Lord. There is fullness of joy in the presence of the Lord. 
   
5. Obedience. Ultimately you must trust God and obey. Ask Him to guide you and obey what He says. Acts of obedience makes strong roots.

In closing, praying, reading scripture, meditating on God's goodness, praising the Lord, and continuing to obey God are all ways we can build trust in the Lord. Our roots may start out weak, but consistency with God strengthens are roots.
Continued obedience builds a rock-solid trust in the Lord that is meant to last a lifetime. Shalom.

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