‘Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.’ Ephesians 3:17 NLT

Did your parents fail to make you feel loved? Did your partner leave you? Were you physically, sexually, mentally or emotionally abused? These are painful experiences. And recognising their source is crucial, especially when it’s a root of rejection. You can resort to all kinds of tactics from people-pleasing to hiding in your work to make yourself feel better, but without a root system of healthy self-esteem, nothing works.

Flawed roots produce flawed fruit: feelings of inferiority, worthlessness, anger, inability to trust, and fear of intimacy. How do you change those fruit? By addressing the root of the problem. How do you do that? ‘He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.’ (Ephesians 3:16–17 NLT) The assurance of God’s love can bring healing to your emotions—and He doesn’t just ‘replant’ you, He ‘re-parents’ you. That means you no longer have to draw your security and self-worth from your family of origin, for: ‘Now we are children of God.’ (1 John 3:2 NKJV)

But remember, it’s a process. Strong roots require three things:

(1) Time to grow. Becoming confident in your identity as God’s child is like breaking in new shoes. You must walk in them till they become comfortable.

(2) Protection from things that can kill. Surround yourself with people who build you up instead of tearing you down; people ‘who share the same precious faith’ (see 2 Peter 1:1).

(3) Spiritual nourishment. Learn to pray and feed yourself regularly from God’s Word (see Job 23:12).

SoulFood: Gen 24:1–51, 2 Cor 6:14–7:1

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©

‘No one takes this honour on himself.’ Hebrews 5:4 NIV

When it comes to knowing what God has called you to do in life, you have two options.

(1) Speculation. Dr Hugh Moorhead, who heads the philosophy department at Northeastern Illinois University, wrote to 250 well-known philosophers, scientists, writers and intellectuals, asking them the time-honoured question: ‘What is the meaning of life?’ Then he published their responses in a book. Some offered their best guesses, some admitted they had made up a purpose for life, and others were honest enough to say they were clueless. In fact, a number of them asked Moorhead to write back and tell them if he himself had discovered the purpose of life. Thank God there’s a Scriptural alternative to speculation!

(2) Revelation. ‘No one takes this honour on himself, but he receives it when called by God.’ When you know God has called you to do a certain thing you can be confident He will provide the resources, wisdom, connections and strategy. And here’s the great thing—you can find all of these in His Word. The Bible is the original owner’s manual when it comes to explaining why you’re alive, how life works, what to avoid, and what to expect in the future. It explains what no self-help or philosophy book could possibly know. Paul writes: ‘We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.’ (1 Corinthians 2:7 ESV) You’ve been genetically wired to fulfil a certain purpose in life. And to discover it, you must turn to God’s Word and not the world’s wisdom.

SoulFood: 1 Sam 8–10, Luke 23:26–34, Ps 54, Pr 21:18–21

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©