Are you placed or planted?

The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree; He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courts of our God.
Psalm 92:12-13 (NIV)

Growing up, my parents kept telling us “We will always love you. That’s what family is.” Now, on the surface, that sounds a little obvious. “Shouldn’t a parent always love their child? Shouldn’t this always be my family? I surely can’t wake up tomorrow as a part of so and so’s family, can I?” There were times when we would frustrate them and they would talk about how we would be sold off somewhere and mum would switch to her mother tongue to express how upset she is (Ah! Good times ☺️). But they never quite got to it – selling us off, that is. We always knew where we could run to when the world was being, well, the world, because we felt like we were firmly planted and grew in the love that our parents nurtured in our family.

My pregnancy was, I believe, a test of what they kept telling us. I was completely horrified about telling them about it but a part of me had been fed the “this will always be family” script that I prayed that this was not going to be the situation that would make them wonder what spirit possessed them to even say that in the first place. But I did it anyway. I told them. The disappointment and hurt was as inevitable as it was impossible to hide. But in the midst of all the tears, they still said “We love you and this is what family is.” Although it killed me to know that I had caused them so much pain, I respected that they kept their word despite the fact that it took every bit of strength they had to maintain their integrity.

In the Bible, several verses specifically mention being planted or established in the Lord (Jeremiah 17:8; Psalm 1:3; Matthew 6:24; Revelation 22:2; John 15:1-27; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9; James 5:7-9). Our vitality is sustained when we remain connected to the source of all that we are. The most basic yet adequate analogy is that of sowing seed. The seed in the soil is kept from the scorching heat of the sun, the prying eyes of the birds and the quick dying up of the soil at the surface. The seed is not placed on the soil, it is planted into it. When it grows, the sun may be scorching, the birds may be prying and the top soil may dry up, but its roots, though unseen, are planted and connected to the source of its life. Winds may sway it, rain may hit it, and disease may threaten its very life, but its strength is in its roots being firmly in the soil.

Similarly, God calls us to be grounded in Him. The life He promises us is fuller, richer and much more meaningful than the love that anything in this world has to offer. We sometimes fall into the temptation of loving WHAT God gives instead of WHO God is. We place ourselves in His presence rather than plant ourselves in who He is. The same way I was planted by the constant reminder of my parents’ love, we need to constantly and intentionally expose ourselves to who God is through consistent prayer, reading His Word and keeping the company of fellow committed believers, so that when the winds sway us, birds pry and sun scorches, we will be so deeply rooted in the source of our vitality that we’re not worried about the intensity or even outcome of trials because our place in Him is secure.