Rooted in Him

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 328, Rooted in Him.

Colossians 2, verses 6 and 7. Let this word land: "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 doesn't open with a new command. He opens with a memory. As you received Christ — go back to that moment. That open heart, that simple faith, that grace that found you before you had anything to offer. Paul is saying: everything flows from that same place. Not from a fresh effort. Not from a more polished spiritual performance. From the same grace that met you at the very beginning.

And then he reaches for an image everyone knows, but that we sometimes forget to actually feel: roots. Rooted in him. Think about a tree in the middle of a storm. What you see moving are the branches, the leaves — but what holds everything together, you cannot see. It is the roots. And Paul is saying that is exactly what it looks like for the believer. When life shakes you — and it will shake you — what keeps you standing is not how hard you tried this week. It is the depth of root that has been quietly growing toward Christ, day after day, word after word, prayer after prayer.

But Paul doesn't stop at rooted. He says built up. And that changes everything. Because roots speak of sustenance — not falling. But built up speaks of growth — rising. God's goal is not only to keep you from collapsing. He wants to build you up. Faith is not a static thing; it is a living construction. And Christ is not only the ground beneath your feet — He is the builder, raising you wall by wall, floor by floor, higher than where you started.

And how does that construction become solid? Established in the faith, just as you were taught. Healthy faith has a memory. It is not always chasing the next spiritual experience — it returns. It returns to Scripture, it returns to what was handed down, it honors what God has already spoken. Steadfastness is not stubbornness. It is faithfulness. It is trusting that what God said yesterday is still true today.

And when all of that is in place — when the root runs deep, when the building is rising, when the faith is firm — what shows up at the surface, what the people around you can actually see, is thanksgiving that overflows. Not an obligation. Not a checked box. A natural response, like water rising when the root is healthy. Gratitude is the sign that you are truly, genuinely rooted in Him.

So today — before breakfast, before your phone, before the day takes over — I want to invite you to do one simple and powerful thing: write down three specific things you are grateful to Christ for today. Not vague. Specific. And speak each one to Him out loud. Let thanksgiving overflow before the day begins. Not as a duty — as a response. As someone who received Christ, and still hasn't quite gotten over it.

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