Awake and Alive: A 5-Day Plan to Revive Your Faith Sample

Sink Deep Roots

“Hear then the parable of the sower: . . . As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” Matthew 13:18, 20-21

If you had to make a list of classic rom- coms, which films would you include? I want you to think of some Hollywood pairing, a couple in love, and picture this man and woman in your mind. And then I want to ask you a question: How old are the individuals? I’m going to take a shot in the dark and say that when we think of romantic love, couples who are crazy about each other, we often think of the romantic love shared between individuals during the first few decades of life.

Whether it’s a Disney Princess or some new streaming rom- com, this kind of love is superemotional. These lovers are starry- eyed. And those stars can interfere with their vision, right? Because in this kind of sentimental, romantic love, the guy or the girl can’t see any fault in the other person. It’s awesome. It’s easy. We love it.

In his epic book on prayer, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, Tyler Staton, a pastor in Portland, names this kind of romantic love “young love.” But he also points to a different kind of love, and that’s “old love.”1 I’m not going to lie; I love it when I’m out on the street and see a couple like this. This is the couple in their eighties who are still holding hands, and they’re crazy about each other. But we don’t see that as much, do we? We don’t see it on- screen very often, and we don’t see it out in the streets. It’s the kind of relationship that has deep roots, and it’s rare.

When the lives of Jesus’ earliest followers were first turned upside down by the power of the gospel, they were like that starry- eyed young couple in love. And Jesus acknowledged that even many of those listening to Him teach while He was alive wouldn’t keep that lovin’ feeling. They wouldn’t stay the course (Matthew 24:10). He knew they wouldn’t become that couple who was still in love after fifty or sixty years of marriage. But He also knows that it’s possible. It’s available to us. The deep-rooted life with Christ, the robust power of the gospel, is available to those who will go after it.

In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, the Greek word petra Jesus used for the seed thrown on rocky ground literally means that when tribulations come, when the believer’s faith is tested, they not only fall away, but they also have contempt in their hearts. Maybe you know someone like this. When bad things happen, they get angry with God. Maybe they encountered Jesus in a real way ten or fifteen years ago. They fell on the ground, recognized their sin, and begged Jesus to save them. Their lives were transformed. At first, they probably looked like they were thriving. They changed the kinds of music they were listening to. They woke up at 4 a.m. every day for prayer. They cried during worship. They felt all of it. But their roots didn’t sink deep. They weren’t grounded. They were, essentially, rootless.

Friend, when those tribulations come, there’s a better way. Because when a child gets sick, when a marriage is on the rocks, when a job is at risk, you can lean into God’s provision. God doesn’t promise that we won’t have pain; He promises to be with us in our pain. In our anger. In our fear. If you haven’t been there, it’s coming. If you have been there, there’s more coming. Sorry.

C. S. Lewis wrote, “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.”2 It’s true, but it’s not original to Lewis. The Word says that God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22–23). Praise God. Let’s get after it today. Let’s go again tomorrow.

Maybe yesterday you were in the Word. You prayed. You clung to the Lord. You walked out life with your Christian friends. You made it. Praise God. But let’s go again tomorrow. His mercies are new, and the tank will be filled in the morning.

We weren’t made for shallow faith. We weren’t made for flimsy, starry- eyed faith that crashes and burns after three months. We were made for the long journey home. You can choose to grow your roots deep so that when tribulation comes your way— not if, but when— you can hold fast.

Reflect

1. Think of a couple who has that “old love” endurance in their relationship. What would you guess is the secret sauce in their relationship?

2. In what ways have you been intentional about nourishing your life with God so that you are developing deep roots?

Challenge

Consistency is boring. It is. I wake up at five a.m. and open my Bible at our kitchen island. And you know how many times the Spirit has overwhelmed me in that moment? The numbers aren’t strong. But every once in a while— and He’s always doing this whether I know it or not— He’ll expand my capacity for endurance. It’s what He does. He expands our capacity for endurance. He expands our capacity for intimacy. The challenge for today is to commit to sinking your roots deep by making time to spend with God daily. Put it on your calendar, schedule it to repeat, and keep that appointment.

1. Tyler Staton, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer (Thomas Nelson, 2022).

2. C. S. Lewis, Letters of C. S. Lewis, ed. W. H. Lewis (Harcourt Brace, 1993), 395.