What keeps you grounded? What feeds your thoughts about yourself and life? What informs your opinions? What keeps you going?

The things that keep our attention are the things that keep us firmly anchored and rooted in our thought patterns and beliefs. They set our foundation and keep us from slipping. They get us ready for what’s ahead.

My favorite image of being rooted is a baseball player up to bat. He stands with his feet apart and slightly bends at the knee. He grips his bat with just enough tension but not too much. He’s firm but not rigid. His focus is on the direction of the target he knows is coming but can’t see just yet. I’m especially entertained by the athlete who twists his cleats back and forth into the dirt as though the little grains of sand are enough to hold him securely in place, providing all the stability he needs to hit what’s coming. He’s rooted and his foundation is firm. He’s ready for impact.

The source you are rooted in is vital. It is your foundation. It sustains you, holds you steady and secure. It nourishes your identity and gives what you need to thrive (bear fruit). You are only as strong as the foundation in which you are rooted.

Take for example the coach or athlete who is rooted to an athletic program. Even the strongest athletics programs have seasons of success and failure. It may be great under the leadership of a solid coach or a stellar combination of players, but seasons change. The athlete who is rooted in her sport suffers from the emotional rollercoaster attached to wins and losses, good and bad games, even good and bad seasons. There is nothing temporary that exists that can provide a solid foundation that enables us to stand no matter what. People retire or move on, affections in relationships can be dynamic, money comes and goes, athletic abilities wane. There are ups and downs with no guarantees.

But here’s a guarantee: The day you accepted Christ Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you gained direct access to the only source worth being rooted in: God Almighty. Jesus urges us to remain in Him; apart from Him we cannot do anything (John 15:4). Being rooted in Christ means keeping Him in your line of vision. It’s reminding yourself again and again that He is with you.

“Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I fly on the wings of the dawn and settle down on the western horizon, even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me.”   

Psalm 139:7-11

Being rooted looks like always engaging God in your life through prayer. As Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray constantly.” That’s possible when you choose to talk to God about everything and every area of your life, big and small. The more you talk with the God of the universe, the more you come to know Him and can trust Him. Pray and keep praying.

Being rooted in Christ is choosing to believe in Jesus and His Word. Hebrews 3:12-14 warns us to, “Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception. For we have become participants in Christ if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.” Believe in Jesus and keep believing in Him.

Being rooted in Jesus also means believing in what He says about who you are. You are His child, set apart, holy and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12, 1 Peter 2:9). You are worth dying for (Romans 5:8). That is true and was always true even before you set foot on the field or the court, scored your first goal or suffered your first loss. It’s true of you even now regardless of how your journey with Him has been. God gave us our athletic talents and abilities, a heart to lead and a mind to use for His glory.

There is no greater or solid foundation than God through Jesus Christ. Christ feeds our identity, giving us value and worth. And with certainty in our identity, we can love freely, be compassionate, kind, gentle and patient. Remind yourself who you are in Him. You are rooted. You are His.