Tapping Into Faith

When I was looking deeper into a verse that came up,  I found this was the verse of the day:

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8 KJV

With all my faithless faith talk, this was such a comfort to me. Here’s what I am thinking:

When trees grow, their roots’ main purpose is to stabilize for growth and seek out a water source. For a time, they pull water from the river. But their taproot seeks out a more substantial, reliable source that isn’t really a part of the river. A source for water that remains when the river dries up.

I went to a tiny Bible college my first two years out of high school. My parents went there (and met there and married there). My grandparents went there. My siblings went there after me. It was the river I was planted next to.

As much as I now disagree with a lot of what the Bible college I attended teaches (or implies), spending two years there gave me an opportunity to study the Word of God and deepen my relationship with Him. Because of my time in Bible college, there is a real foundation that helps me through drought.

But if I hadn’t continued to establish my taproot, seeking for a deep, constant, reliable source, the flood and the drought I’ve experienced since could have shaken me, possibly to the point of death. When the waters became rough, when I questioned the behavior and beliefs of the river I was planted beside, the foundation in which my roots were established would have been eroded. And if I had relied on the rivers to bring water, then when it dried up, I would have also dried up.

One of the most obvious circumstances that shook my faith is my father leaving my mother. I was a daddy’s girl, through and through. And much of my faith was built on my relationship with him. A story of his faith was instrumental in my coming to the Lord and being filled with His Spirit. I would go to dad to work out issues. He encouraged me to grow and become all I am. He was a big part of my river.

But when he cast away everything I thought he stood for, everything I stood for. Frankly, when he cast away me, the river became violent and threatening rather than life sustaining. And now that he is no longer in my life as a source for knowing God, I’ve had to tap into a source that doesn’t rely on him.

I get it. It’s dangerous to base your faith on someone else’s faith. I’ve recently experienced it, yet again. But luckily, I’ve come through stronger. Even if it is a faithless faith.

To “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” is digging and seeking deeper than the river provides. You can hold during flood and find water in drought. But we must be able to identify when we are getting our life from the river or from a sustainable Source.