Roots and Sunshine

On Sunday our Pastor's sermon focused on the parable in Matthew 13 about the Sower and his seed that fell on the wayside, stony places, thorns, and good ground. His message encouraged us to check our priorities to make sure that Jesus is not at the "head" of your life, but at the "center" of your life. His reasoning was that with God in the center of every aspect of your life, it is easier to align yourself to His will. The message repeatedly told us to check what kind of soil we are, allow our hearts to be plowable, and have deep roots in God. Pastor made a powerful point that when we are rooted in God, even when the storms of life toss us to and fro, we will remain planted.

Yesterday during my devotions I was reading Psalm 80 and it was so encouraging because it brought to mind Sunday's sermon and reminded me that even if you identify with the seed that was not planted in good ground, there is mercy with God!

Psalm 80 has lots of parallels with God being the provision and planter and us being His seed.

• Verses 3, 7, and 19 likened God's face to sunshine, which is needed for growth. "Turn us again... and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved."

• Verse 8 describes God as the Planter. "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it." I love this verse in its simplicity. The vine here is not a seedling. It has growth, but is not where it should be. God takes us from where we were and can plant us to where He sees our purpose should be. Our mistakes and decisions to grow in ungodly places are not a hinderance to God plucking us out of those situations and planting us into good soil.

• Verse 9 shows us that God can make us rooted. "Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land." 

• Verse 12-13 questions why God allows us to experience hardship and injury. "Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it." This depicts how God will allow the storms of life to come to check your commitment to Him and see how rooted you've remained.

• Verse 14-15 is the reminder that there is mercy for us when we remember the Planter. "Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; and the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself." What better way to touch God's heart than to remember and declare that you belong to the Planter (God); that you are His vineyard; that you want to reestablish your relationship to the Life-Giver?

The verses that really touched me were 17 and 18. "Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name." Wow, wow, wow. This reference to the son of man is a strong reminder that we need Jesus, the Son of Man, to restore our relationship to God. We need the Holy Spirit to "quicken" and enlighten us to the realness of God and cause our hearts to return to God.

This Psalm was encouraging in light of Sunday's message to make the right choices. It's encouragement to those who think it's too late for them and they're stuck with the choices they've created for themselves. There is mercy and restoration that can put you back in your rightful place - the place God intends for you to grow and flourish. There is Jesus - God's right hand man - to plead your case to God and point you in the path to restoration. There is the Holy Spirit to guide you as you live out your days, so that you remain in close relationship with God - keeping Him in the center of your life.

Let us turn to God, and God will shine on us, "and we shall be saved."

♪♫♬♪ Who You Are (Unspoken)