Rooted and Rising

Looking in on the Plants

We began the year with the theme of “Planting”. We looked at:

The Joy of Planting – encouragement to get excited about planting

Don’t Sell the Farm – Commit and remember the Harvest!

The Miracle of the Seed – reminder that the miracle isn’t in the harvest – it is in God’s seed.

The Law of Sowing and Reaping – God’s law of Sowing and Reaping is a dynamic truth that effects whether we experience blessing or suffer pain.

I believe that this message is a prophetic message. Just as Elijah prayed for the rain to return to Israel after he prophesied it, I continue to pray towards the harvest.

I am sorry to report that my plants didn’t make it. A couple struggled to make it. I had a fancy hydroponic planter. After planting the seeds, I kept checking on them; after all, it would make for a fun sermon illustration. I didn’t see anything happening.

I got discouraged because nothing seemed to happen…No dramatic growth…No overnight transformation. Just… dirt. My experiment was not a total failure. Some seedlings did emerge which verified something we all know. Growth is unseen at first, but things do happen beneath the surface. That’s the frustrating thing about growth. Real growth is usually slow, hidden, and gradual.

And spiritually, many Christians feel the same way. We assume maturity should happen quickly. We expect instant victory, instant wisdom, instant peace, instant transformation. But often God grows people the same way He grows plants: gradually, deeply, patiently, and from the inside out.

Faithful Growth

Most of us wonder at times:

“Am I really growing spiritually?”

“Why do I still struggle?”

“Why does maturity seem so slow?”

“Shouldn’t I be farther along by now?”

We compare ourselves to others who seem spiritually taller, stronger, and more fruitful. Some Christians feel discouraged because they still battle temptation. Some feel ashamed because they still wrestle with anxiety or impatience. Others quietly assume that because growth is slow, nothing is happening. But anyone who has ever planted a seed knows something important: Just because growth is invisible doesn’t mean growth is absent. Roots grow before fruit appears.

And the Apostle Paul understood this. When he wrote to the believers in Colossae, he didn’t shame them for not being finished products. Instead, he encouraged them to continue growing.

Signs that You ARE Growing

Paul writes in Colossians 1:9–14:

Colossians 1:9 NIV

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,

Paul’s first image is this: God wants to fill us. Healthy plants absorb nutrients from the soil. Healthy believers absorb truth from God. Spiritual maturity begins with being rooted in God’s will and God’s Word. A plant cannot grow if it is disconnected from nourishment.

Neither can we.

And notice this growth is Spirit-produced, not self-manufactured. Christian maturity is not merely trying harder. It is remaining connected to the source of life. Jesus said in Gospel of John 15 that apart from Him we can do nothing. Growth begins underground.

1. Fruit

Paul continues:

Colossians 1:10 NIV

so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, …

Spiritual maturity produces visible evidence: kindness, patience, generosity, integrity, compassion, forgiveness, faithfulness.

Remember, fruit is the product of healthy roots. Fruit is not manufactured by stapling apples onto a dead tree. Fruit grows naturally from healthy roots. And here’s encouraging news: fruit takes time. An orchard owner does not dig up a seed every week to check whether it is growing. He trusts the process.

God is more patient with your growth than you are.

2. Upward and Downward Growth

Paul says:

Colossians 1:10 NIV

…, growing in the knowledge of God,

Plants grow in two directions simultaneously: roots downward, branches upward. Some of the strongest spiritual growth in your life may not look impressive externally.

When you choose forgiveness instead of bitterness—that’s root growth.

When you keep praying through disappointment—that’s root growth.

When you stay faithful during grief—that’s root growth.

Deep roots create resilient believers. A shallow plant may look beautiful for a season, but it cannot survive storms. God is not merely making you impressive. He is making you durable.

3. An Increase in Strength

Paul writes:

Colossians 1:11 NIV

being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,

Notice Paul does not pray merely for escape from difficulty.He prays for strength within difficulty. Strong plants are not grown in perfect conditions. Roots deepen when winds blow and drought comes. And some of the spiritual maturity you now possess only came because life forced your roots deeper into God. You discovered:

God was faithful in grief,

present in loneliness,

near in uncertainty,

sustaining in suffering.

Trials produce perseverance, which completes its work, so believers become mature and complete (James 1:2–4).

The storm did not destroy you. It developed you.

4. A Joy Filled Response to the Son

On our flight to Cancun on Monday there was a young Jewish family seated in front of us. As we were waiting to deboard the plane, the little boy (about 2 years old) began to speak to us in Hebrew. He taught us the word for sun, Shemesh, and that it was “strong” and “bright”. It struck me as interesting that it would be described as “strong”. It is, of course, In Jewish and Israeli culture, it serves as a powerful symbol of light, warmth, and divine sustenance.

How do we respond to God’s sun shining on us? Paul finishes with worship:

Colossians 1:12 NIV

and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

This is important: plants do not congratulate themselves for growing. They simply receive what the gardener provides. Paul reminds us that salvation itself is God’s work. He says:

God qualified us,

God rescued us,

God transferred us,

God redeemed us,

God forgave us.

Spiritual maturity is not becoming self-sufficient. It is becoming increasingly aware of how much we depend on grace.

Keep Growing!

Maybe today you feel discouraged because you don’t think you’re growing. But let me ask you something: Are your roots deeper than they used to be? Years ago:

maybe criticism shattered you—but now you recover faster.

maybe anxiety ruled your thoughts—but now you pray sooner.

maybe anger controlled your reactions—but now the Spirit interrupts you.

maybe you once ran from hardship—but now you cling to God through it.

That is growth. Not flashy growth. Not instant growth. But real growth.

A tree does not become towering overnight. And neither does a disciple.

Some of you are frustrated because you still see weakness. But healthy plants are living things, and living things continue growing.

Dead things do not struggle. Living things do.

The very fact that you desire holiness, conviction, truth, and closeness with God is evidence that spiritual life is already at work within you. So don’t quit because you are not finished.

Stay planted.

Keep seeking God.

Keep worshiping.

Keep obeying.

Keep trusting.

Keep showing up.

Growth is happening even when you cannot see it.

What Do We Need?

I don’t know what might be going on in your life. What you are struggling with or what keeps you up at night, but consider this question, “What do you need?” Your immediate response might be…finance, healing, peace, a vacation, on and on. But the immediate answer is universal…We need God!

It will only be God that brings peace, healing, and order to our chaos. That realization is GROWTH.

Imagine what could happen if an entire church embraced this kind of growth.

Not pretending…Not comparing…Not performing.

But deeply rooted people who:

draw nourishment from God daily,

remain steady during storms,

bear fruit consistently,

and help others grow too.

A healthy forest begins with rooted trees. And a spiritually mature church is built one growing believer at a time.

So this week, instead of asking: “Have I arrived?”

Ask: “Am I still rooted?”

Because if your roots remain in Christ, growth will come. And one day, what God has been doing underground will become visible for everyone to see.