Deep Experiences of Jesus Bear Us in Difficult Times

In the last year many states have been suffering from extremely dry weather, and here in Texas we have had many wild fires as a result. This situation reminds me of a verse in Matthew 13. It says, "But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered." This verse refers to the seed which is planted in the rocky places, which is not able to take root because of the rocky condition of the soil.

In Texas we have a lot of grass but if you drive around none of it is green. Instead the grass appears golden, or brown, in color. In some places, by the highway, the grass is scorched as mentioned in Matthew 13. Amazingly, wherever this grass is, often times you can see trees, which look to be doing very well. They seem almost unaffected by the drought. I am reminded of these verses, which also are in Mark and Luke. In Mark 4, it reads "Yet they have no root in themselves, but last only for a time; then when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately they are stumbled." And the trees make me think about another verse in Hosea 14:5, which reads, "I will be like the dew to Israel; He will bud like the lily and will send forth his roots like the trees of Lebanon."

Consider this scene carefully. It says that God will be like the dew to Israel, and that the people of God will bud like a lily, and have roots like the trees of Lebanon. This is in complete contrast to the seed sown in the rocky ground which have no root, and is scorched in times of persecution. There can be little doubt that Israel is a type of the church, who's roots should go down like the trees of Lebanon, and whose members should be firmly rooted in Christ. I can make this assertion because of Romans 2, which says, "But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, in spirit, not in letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God." and in Galatians it mentions that those "who are of faith are sons of Abraham".

In seeing the trees in Austin, and how well they have held out during this drought, I realized that for many of them their roots go down at least as deep as they are tall. This is incredible and represents that as believers we should have deep and hidden experiences of Christ. Clearly, we should also have some experiences which are known by others so that we may glorify God, but at the same time our roots should go down like the trees of Lebanon, symbolizing that we have an enormous supply of life, which is hidden from others, yet our appearance is that of lily, meek yet lovely.