Where a plant is planted makes all the difference. If it’s supposed to be planted in clay soil it won’t thrive in sandy soil. If it’s supposed to be in sunlight, it won’t thrive in the shade. And we’re the same. Where we choose to be planted makes a difference to whether we thrive or not. We can choose to plant ourselves in the past, putting our roots down into all the good and bad things that have happened. We tell ourselves that there’s safety in the known or we think that our past means we can’t be replanted. We can choose to plant ourselves in what the world says. We root ourselves in magazines, TV, self-help manuals, relationships, and things that are self-destructive. We head to social media to show others our successes and to compare ourselves with those around us. We think that these things will help us become like the people we believe are thriving around us. Or we can plant ourselves by God’s stream of living water. We can root ourselves in Him and His Word. We can find the nutrients we need to grow. The Bible says: ‘Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream’ (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV). Where we choose to plant ourselves may not change the situations that we’ll face. Life will still happen. But when we’re rooted in God, we don’t ‘fear when heat comes’ and our life ‘never fails to bear fruit’ (v.8). That’s true thriving. So are we prepared to choose a new patch to be planted in? Will we let God replant us next to His life-giving stream of water?
