Rooted In Christ

Sometimes we feel like a tree being tossed back and forth by the hurricane-force winds of other people's opinions. It feels like the roots are being pulled out from under us. We're holding on for dear life, trying to remain anchored in who we are.

This is why it's so critical that we know who we are, and better yet whose we are.

When we come to a deeper understanding of God's love for us and we begin to take to heart what He says about us, we will be able to better withstand the windy opinions of the world. We will be rooted in Christ, and our tree will stand strong and secure in the middle of the storm.

A Firm Foundation

Confidence in who we are in Christ as children of God will provide a firm foundation that we can build our lives upon.

At the same time, I know that it can be so easy to get wrapped up in what others think. The praises of man often cause our hearts to be filled with pride, while their destructive criticisms tend to fill us with fear. In the end, if we allow man's opinions to define us, we will be left with nothing but a big head and a cowardice heart.

“We don’t need outside validation when we have an inside revelation of our identity as sons and daughters of God”

Learning how to not live on the basis of the crowd's opinions is a process, and that's okay. Love the learning. Life is a journey, and I consider each step forward, no matter how small, a victory.

I've found an illustration that helps me stay rooted in who I am in the middle of people's opinions. I give the Father the compliments and the criticisms.

I've often heard this concept illustrated with a bouquet of flowers. We are encouraged to give God all of the praises we've received throughout the day, each compliment representing a flower. At the end of the day, we present the Lord with a bouquet and give it all back to Him.

I'd like to take this a step further by giving God a bouquet of roses. The petals represent people's compliments and the thorns represent their criticisms. At the end of the day, we can hand God our roses and He can have it all. We are free to not let the compliments inflate us, or the criticisms deflate us. We can remain steady in the confidence of what God thinks and says about us despite the wavering thoughts of others.