Pushing Up Pavement
RISE
AND SHINE FOR JESUS!
By Pam Iannello (my late mother)
"Pushing Up Pavement"
What is a firm foundation for life?
What is a shaky foundation? Do you know if you are establishing the
right one?
Proverbs 12:3 (KJV)
A man shall not be
established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be
moved.
Ladies, the Bible teaches
us that wickedness is a very unreliable root system… It is never
firmly established; at best it is only temporary and soon dries up,
withers and blows away. Such persons are easily displaced by all
sorts of conditions; they are ever taking on new forms. But the root
of the righteous, on the other hand, is a different story! This root
system has strength and stability; it cannot be shaken; it is unable
to be pulled up. No set of circumstances is powerful enough to
triumph over the depth of strength it possesses! It is always
stable; always the same. When a person is truly planted in
Christ, he sends down roots deep into the soil of God’s Word and
will and what a remarkable foundation they have acquired for
themselves!
As I came across this
portion of scripture today, I was reminded of something I recently
encountered… Whenever the weather permits, my husband and I like to
take brisk morning walks together. Fortunately, there is a paved
walking path very close to our home that winds through the woods and
along a country creek. The scenery is very therapeutic and we always
look forward to the break it affords us from our busy lifestyle to
walk and talk. One morning I noticed a mounded rupture in the
pavement where the root of a nearby tree was in the process of
pushing its way up through the black topped walkway, creating quite a
sizeable fracture. I was struck with the thought of how amazing it is
that such a silent, motionless, unexpected object could
accomplish such a powerful, seemingly impossible task! Why, I
couldn’t budge that pavement with my own hand if I tried! But
little by little, day by day, the root of that tree kept pressing
against that rock-solid pathway and eventually broke through! As I
looked around, none of the nearby trees appeared stressed or even
lopsided, in spite of the obvious underlying effort that had been and
still was taking place. And you couldn’t even hear the
struggle… (You don’t have to be loud to make an impact…)
Yes, roots are amazing things and while deep ones cannot be
moved, they certainly can do a lot of moving themselves!
How about YOU, Christian
woman? Are you a believer that cannot be uprooted? Are you one that
can accomplish some remarkable tasks by way of your spiritual root
system? Do you have the ability to “push up pavement”, so to
speak; to silently press against the harder things of life and
still grow; still thrive and stand strong as a Christian? How much
inner strength does your relationship with Christ afford you?
Col. 2:7-8 (KJV)
Rooted and built up in
him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving. [8] Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Four Things That Will
Mess Up Your Root System
- Philosophy of man
- Vain deceit
- Tradition of men
- Rudiments of the world
One Thing That Will
Provide You With A Strong Root System
- Personal, Active Relationship with Jesus Christ
Ladies, we are only
safest and strongest when Jesus Christ is the source of spiritual
nourishment and growth. Anything else you might be tempted to tap
into will not supply you with what you need to face the harder side
of life – they will only spoil your faith! Only God’s Word
is able to build you up; to supply you with the strength necessary to
thrive in the face of difficulty and help you push against the forces
of evil that you’ll encounter from time to time. How deep are
the roots of your faith? Are you tackling the tough stuff, moment
by moment, day by day, and making some noticeable headway? Today, so
many people have obvious signs of stress in their lives, including
God’s people. But ladies, it’s time we reversed the situation;
it’s time we put some signs of Christ’s strength into our
circumstances!! Is there stress in your Christianity or
Christianity in your stress? Deepening your relationship with
Jesus Christ is the one way to a vital spiritual life… By His power
and person we can have a godly impact and make a unique godly
impression - much like that silent tree root did in our paved
walkway, regardless of how hard things may be!
In closing, I took note
of that tree root on our walk that morning and ended up learning a
lot about my walk with the Lord… But how inspiring it would be if
others were able to take note of our relationship with Jesus Christ
and learn by way of our human example that no set of
circumstances is impossible when we are firmly rooted in the Lord!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2006 Pamela
A. Iannello
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