Rooted in Him

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 251, Rooted in Him.

Colossians 2, verses 6 and 7. Take this in:

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving."

Paul does not begin with a demand. He begins with a fact. You have received Christ Jesus the Lord. That is the starting line — not an empty place, not a distant hope, but a surrender that already happened. Something real. Something that changed everything. And right there, Paul plants his feet and says: so now, live that way.

Walk in him. The same faith that opened the door is the same faith that carries every step you take today. There are not two versions of the gospel — one for the moment of conversion and another for Monday morning when everything feels heavy. It is the same Lord. The same grace. The same path — from the very first day all the way to the last.

And then Paul reaches for an image I want you to hold onto today: rooted. Think about a tree. The roots are underground. Nobody sees them walking past. But that is exactly where the life is — hidden, deep, firm. And when the wind comes — and the wind always comes — that is not the moment to go searching for roots. That is the moment to discover they were already there. That Christ, the Lord you have already received, is already holding you from the inside, in places you may not have even noticed yet.

But Paul does not stop at the roots. He says built up. And being built up is something different from merely surviving. To be built up is to grow with structure — not to accumulate information about the faith, but to be formed by it, day after day, until you start to look more like Christ than like who you used to be. The faith you have received is not meant to be tucked away and kept safe. It is meant to be built upon. Every single day adds another layer.

And the visible fruit of all of it — of being rooted, of being built up, of walking in him — Paul says it is thanksgiving that overflows. Not polished, surface-level gratitude. Not "thank God" said out of habit. But a thankfulness that rises from within because you stopped, you looked, and you saw what Christ has already done. That kind of gratitude is not the finish line of mature faith — it is the evidence that the roots are healthy. When you are truly rooted in him, you cannot stay quiet about what he has already done for you.

And that is exactly where I want to call you to act today. Before breakfast — before you open your phone, before the day pulls you in — find something to write with. Write down three specific things you are thankful to Christ for today. Not vague things. Be specific. A person's name. A door he opened. A moment when you knew he was there. And then say it out loud, to him: "Thank you, Lord." Let it leave your lips. Let it be real.

Because spoken gratitude is a root growing deeper.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.