When you stop & think about it, the transformation of a seed into a living plant is supernatural. The seed in the sack will never be a plant until it is planted in the soil, receives water, heat from the sun and oxygen. The seed will lay in the ground for several days until…BAM, it burst into life. If you think, like people do, that when the sprout breaks through the ground is when life begins, you will be mistaken.

The first sign of life in the seed is the root. And get this, the root (with no school, books, or parents) knows which direction to go down. Sometime later the sprout will come from the seed and begin the journey up to break through the soil into the sunlight. I sat through a Botany class in college just trying to memorize facts but never recognized this incredible miracle. It was in a Bible study when this hit me. It revealed God’s Authority & Power overall. God has complete control. All through the Bible we see His Hand, how the weather responds to His command, or how He orchestrates events, positioning or giving people ideas & thoughts. My favorite example of God displaying His Authority was when He Redeemed His people from slavery in Egypt. In Exodus 7 – 11, He ordered the frogs, lice, flies, pestilence on livestock, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness, into position and everything responded as told. He is Sovereign God. But God gave man a choice. Because God desires a relationship with you & me.

Let’s go back to the picture of the new plant. Many times, in life we focus on what we see and not what’s going on in the unseen. Jesus pointed to this in Matthew 13:20-21, “The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the Word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” Over the years I have witnessed new Christians burst into life and become very “busy” trying to be involved in every activity, read & watch sources of teachings, but fail to discipline themselves in deep daily Bible study. So, when trouble comes, and Jesus said it would (John 16:33) if the person has not developed deep roots in God’s Word, they become vulnerable to the conditions of the world.

Here are some of the DEEP Roots of Scripture in my life.

• “I (Jesus) give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:28
• “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
• “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 2 Chronicles 20:12
• And a “Full Power” passage is found in Isaiah 43:1-3, “But now, this is what the Lord says—He who created you, Jacob, He who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
• And my Bonus Verse is from Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” It is on His strength I must trust & depend!

So, from these scriptures and Bible stories (Peter taking his eyes off Jesus in the storm, Paul, David and more) I have adopted Paul’s words to cut through my inability to understand the challenges & difficulties of life. “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’  Philippians 3:13-15

“I press on.”